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ANATOMICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  BRAIN  AND 
SEVERAL  SENSE-ORGANS  OF  THE  BLIND  DEAF- 
MUTE,  LAURA  DEWEY  BRIDGMAN. 
HENRY   H.  DONALDSON,  PH.  D., 

Assistant  Professor  of  Neurology  at  Clark  University, 
Worcester,  Mass. 


Reprinted  from  The  American  "Journal  of  Psychology,  Vol.  Ill, 
No,  3,  Sept.,  1890,  pp.  293-342,  Plates  I  and  II;  and  Vol.  IV, 
No.  2,  Dec,  iSgi,  pp.  248-294,  Plates  III  and  IV. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

DEPART  WENT  OF  PHYSIOLOGY 

COLLEGE  OF  PHYSICIANS  AND  SURGEONS 

437  WEST  FIFTY  NINTH  STREET 

NEW  YORK 


-7  <*w  &*Cu*  1*UUmaw 


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ANATOMICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE 
BRAIN  AND  SEVERAL  SENSE- 
ORGANS  OF  THE  BLIND 
DEAF-MUTE, 
LAURA  DEWEY   BRIDGMAN. 


Henry  H.  Donaldson,  Ph.  D. 


Reprint  from  the  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  3,  1890. 


I. 

Through  the  exertions  of  President  G.  Stanley  Hall,  the 
brain  in  question  was  obtained  and  was  put  by  him  in  my 
hands  for  description.  Several  gentlemen  whose  names  will 
duly  appear  have  assisted  by  describing  the  sense-organs.  I 
am  under  obligation  to  others  for  facilitating  the  work  in  many 
ways,  and  especially  to  Prof.  W.  F.  Whitney  and  his  col- 
leagues of  the  Harvard  Medical  School,  Prof.  B.  G.  "Wilder 
of  Cornell  University,  and  Prof.  C.  K.  Mills  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  for  the  privilege  of  examining  specimens 
in  their  possession.  For  the  opportunity  to  consult  the 
literature  I  am  indebted  to  the  exceptional  facilities  offered  by 
the  Library  of  the  Surgeon  General  at  Washington  of  which  I 
have  made  much  use. 

In  the  study  of  this  case  it  has  been  my  aim  to  give  as  full 
a  description  as  the  material  in  my  hands  would  warrant, 
and  for  this  purpose  I  have  applied  a  large  number  of  tests  to 
the  brain,  to  determine,  if  possible,  whether  the  peculiar 
mental  existence  of  Laura  Bridgman,  which  was  the  result  of 


2  DONALDSON : 

her  defective  sense-organs,  has  left  any  trace  on  her  brain, 
or  whether  such  anomalies  as  may  be  observed  are  suffici- 
ently explained  when  considered  as  the  direct  consequences 
of  the  initial  defect  alone.  This  is,  therefore,  a  special  study 
in  the  general  field  of  the  inter-relation  of  brain  structure 
and  intelligence.  What  might  be  expected  to  come  from  the 
various  tests  will  be  discussed  under  the  separate  headings, 
and  I  shall  leave  such  generalizations  as  are  possible  until 
the  special  points  have  been  set  forth. 

Biographical  Notes. 
By  way  of  introduction,  I  may  be  permitted  to  state  some 
biographical  facts  that  will  bear  on  this  discussion.  Laura 
Dewey  Bridgman(1)*  was  born  Dec.  21,  1829,  in  Hanover,  New 
Hampshire,  IT.  S.  A.  She  was  the  child  of  Daniel  and  Har- 
mony Bridgman,  who  were  farming  people.  The  parents  (*) 
are  described  as  of  sound  health,  good  habits,  average  height, 
slenderly  built ;  the  father  with  a  small  head,  the  mother  with 
' l  not  a  large  head  " ;  both  rather  nervous ;  the  mother  active- 
minded.  Their  culture  was  such  as  might  be  found  in  rural 
districts  like  their  own  at  that  time.  Laura  inherited  the 
physical  peculiarities  of  her  mother,  and  her  health  was 
delicate.  During  infancy  she  was  subject  to  convulsions,  but 
at  the  age  of  twenty  months  her  health  improved,  and  she  is 
described  as  active  and  intelligent.  She  had  learned  to 
speak  several  words,  and  knew  one  or  two  of  the  letters  of 
the  alphabet,  when,  being  two  years(2)  f  old,  she  and  her  two 
older  sisters,  forming  at  that  time  the  family,  were  attacked  with 
scarlet  fever.  The  two  sisters  died.  Laura  was  severely  ill ; 
both  eyes  and  both  ears  suppurated,  and  taste  and  smell  were 
impaired.  Sight  in  the  left  eye  was  entirely  abolished.  With 
the  right  eye  she  appeared  to  get  some  sensation  from 
extremely  large  bright  objects,  up  to  her  eighth  year,  but  after 

*  The  bracketed  figures  in  the  text  refer  to  similar  figures  iu  the 
bibliography,  where  the  authority  is  given  in  full.  In  some  cases 
reference  is  made  to  the  page  of  the  publication  cited  and  this  is  then 
bracketed  in  the  text  with  the  figures  just  mentioned. 

fThe  date  of  this  illness  is  a  matter  of  some  importance.  As  there  is 
no  agreement  among  the  various  authors  on  this  point,  I  have  been 
forced  to  choose  an  authority  and  have  naturally  taken  the  dates  given 
by  Dr.  Howe  in  his  Reports. 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.  3 

that  time  became  completely  blind.  Two  years  passed  before 
she  recovered  sufficiently  to  sit  up  all  day.  At  the  age  of 
five  years  she  had  regained  her  strength.  Speech  was  lost 
with  the  loss  of  hearing,  and  when  her  education  at  home 
was  renewed,  it  was  by  means  of  arbitrary  tactual  signs  of 
the  simplest  sort.  She  was  taught  to  sew,  to  knit  and  to  braid, 
and  to  perform  some  minor  household  duties.  On  Oct.  4th, 
1837,  she  was  brought  to  the  Perkins  Institution  and  Massachu- 
setts Asylum  for  the  Blind,  and  her  education  was  begun  by 
Dr.  S.  G.  Howe,  then  director  of  the  institution.  She  was  now 
seven  years  and  ten  months  of  age,  and  in  the  defective  con- 
dition above  described.  Dr.  Howe  (a-*-161)  says  of  her  at  this 
time :  ' '  figure  well  formed ;  nervous  sanguine  temperament ; 
a  large  [no  measurements  have  been  preserved]  and  beau- 
tifully shaped  head,  and  the  whole  system  in  healthy  action. ' ' 
The  process  of  education  commenced  with  the  pasting  of 
the  name  of  a  common  object  on  the  object,  the  name  being  in 
raised  letters,  such  as  are  used  for  the  blind ;  then  the  associ- 
ation of  the  name  and  object ;  then  forming  the  name  from 
the  individual  letters ;  and  after  a  long  time  the  letters  them- 
selves were  learned.  It  was  when  she  first  recognized  that 
the  sign  for  an  object  could  be  constructed  from  the  individual 
letters,  that  the  meaning  of  what  she  was  doing  dawned  upon 
her.  From  that  time  on  her  education  became  easier,  and, 
indeed,  she  had  in  one  sense  to  be  held  back  in  her  work,  as 
there  was  danger  that  her  frail  constitution  would  succumb 
to  the  too  great  interest  in  her  studies.  It  is  important  to  note 
that  at  this  time  she  exhibited  the  various  emotions  by 
gesture  and  facial  expression.  She  was  fond  of  dress  and 
pleased  by  attention.  The  lapse  of  time  within  the  limits  of 
the  day  and  the  occurrence  of  Sunday  were  correctly  noted  by 
her.  In  the  report  for  1839  (2^m)  it  is  said  that  she 
can  distinguish  between  a  whole  and  half  note  of  music,  and 
will  strike  the  notes  on  the  piano  quite  correctly.  (How 
this  interesting  test  was  made,  is  not  quite  clear. )  A  test  of 
her  sense  of  taste  at  this  time  showed  her  capable  of 
distinguishing  better  between  different  degrees  of  acidity  than 
between  this  and  sweetness  or  bitterness.  She  appeared  at 
the  same  time  to  care  rather  less  for  eating  than  most  children 
of  her  age. 


4  DONALDSON : 

The  sense  of  smell  seems  to  have  been  subject  to  some  vari- 
ations. During  the  first  years  of  her  residence  at  the  institu- 
tion it  was  apparently  completely  wanting,  and  there  was 
never  at  any  time  the  slightest  tendency  to  test  objects  by 
holding  them  to  the  nose.  Later  (1843)  she  seemed  able  to 
locate  the  kitchen  by  the  odors  coming  from  it,  but  this  sense 
does  not  appear  to  have  ever  been  of  any  importance  to  her. 
The  sense  of  touch  was  very  acute  even  for  a  blind  person, 
and  she  was  sensitive  to  jar. 

Dirt  or  a  rent  in  her  clothing  caused  her  shame.  She  was 
familiar  with  those  of  her  own  sex,  but  distant  to  men,  and 
was  remarkable  for  her  sense  of  order,  neatness  and  propriety. 
She  seemed  capable  of  discovering  the  intellectual  capacity 
of  those  with  whom  she  was  thrown,  and  quickly  chose 
the  more  intelligent  for  her  companions.  Occasionally,  too 
much  attention  to  other  scholars,  in  her  presence,  aroused 
jealousy  on  her  part. 

She  cried  only  from  grief,  and  the  pain  from  a  bodily  injury 
she  sought  to  annul  by  jumping  and  excessive  muscular 
motions.  So  far  as  could  be  learned,  she  did  not  dream  in 
the  terms  of  her  lost  senses,  and  this  is  what  might  be 
expected,  since  they  were  lost  at  so  early  an  age(3). 

She  made  a  number  of  noises.  Francis  Lieber  studied  these 
with  some  care,  with  a  view  to  their  bearing  on  the  origin  of 
language(4).  It  appears  that  Laura  had  some  fifty  or  more 
sounds  by  which  she  was  accustomed  to  designate  people  whom 
she  knew.  They  were  all  monosyllabic.  Besides  this  she  laughed 
much  and  loud,  was  noisy  at  play,  and  occasionally  made 
other  emotional  noises  which  were  suppressed  by  her  teachers. 
In  this  respect  she  was  similar  to  most  mutes,  so-called, 
who  appear  to  have  a  variety  of  sounds  at  their  command. 

In  a  recent  article,  Mrs.  Lamson(5)  states  that  Laura  once 
uttered  the  word  doctor  by  accident,  and  her  attention  being 
called  to  this,  she  subsequently  always  spoke  the  word  instead 
of  spelling  it  with  her  fingers.  The  same  thing  happened 
with  the  words  pie,  ship  and  several  others.  These  facts  are 
taken  to  indicate  that  though  so  defective,  she  might  possibly 
have  been  taught  to  vocalize,  as  has  been  done  in  some 
more   recent  cases.     She  appeared  to   keep   constantly  her 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.  5 

relations  in  space,  and  became  confused  if  she  lost  what  might 
be  called  "  the  points  of  the  compass."  She  was  much  afraid 
of  animals,  and  when  more  than  fifteen  years  of  age  could 
hardly  be  induced  to  touch  a  docile  house-dog. 

When  about  sixteen  she  is  described  as  more  thought- 
ful and  sedate,  though  cheerful  —  a  condition  which  Dr. 
Howe  regards  as  showing  that  her  age  was  to  be  measured 
by  the  degree  of  her  mental  development  rather  than  by  the 
number  of  years  she  had  lived.  When  she  was  twenty  years 
of  age  her  regular  education  ceased,  and  the  special  reports 
by  Dr.  Howe  stop  at  this  time. 

In  1878,  President  G.  Stanley  Hall(6)  made  a  valuable  series 
of  tests  upon  her.  At  this  time  she  was  found  completely 
blind  and  deaf,  though  the  sense  of  jar  was  well  enough 
developed  to  enable  her  to  recognize  the  footsteps  and  some- 
times even  the  voices  of  her  acquaintances,  her  common 
statement  being  that  she  heard  { '  through  her  feet. ' '  At  this 
time  her  sense  of  smell  was  such  that  she  could  distinguish 
the  odors  of  some  more  fragrant  flowers,  but  eau-de-Cologne, 
ammonia  and  onions  were  thus  recognized  only  when  quite 
strong.  Contrary  to  what  was  stated  for  an  earlier  period, 
she  was  found  least  sensitive  to  bitter  and  acid  tastes,  and 
most  sensitive  to  sweet  and  salt.  It  was  concluded  that  out 
of  the  four  defective  senses,  taste  alone  was  well  enough 
preserved  to  materially  aid  in  developing  her  notion  of  the 
external  world.  A  study  of  discriminative  sensibility  for 
two  compass  points  showed  a  discrimination  in  her  case, 
from  two  to  three  times  as  acute  as  that  of  a  seeing 
person.  To  temperature,  her  sensitiveness  was  not  remark- 
able, and  hence  the  "facial  sense,"  as  it  is  sometimes  called 
in  the  blind,  was  not  well- developed  in  her,  though  she  was 
said  to  recognize  the  approach  of  persons  by  the  undulations 
of  the  air.  She  was  found  sensitive  to  rotation,  which  made 
her  dizzy  and  gave  her  a  feeling  of  nausea. 

In  the  course  of  her  life  Laura  was  the  author  of  "  a 
Journal,  three  Autobiographical  Sketches,  several  so-called 
poems  and  numerous  letters."  The  Journal  covers  a  period 
of  about  ten  years.     Dr.  E.  C.  Sanford(7),   who  has  made  a 


6  DONALDSON  : 

study  of  her  writings,  sums  up  her  mental  development  as  thus 
indicated,  by  the  statement  that  "she  was  eccentric,  not 
defective ;  she  lacked  certain  data  of  thought,  but  not,  in  a 
very  marked  way,  the  power  to  use  what  data  she  had." 

She  died  at  the  Perkins  Institution,  where  she  had  spent 
almost  her  entire  life,  on  the  24th  of  May,  1889,  being  in 
her  sixtieth  year. 

Laura  excited  wide  interest  because,  for  the  first  time  in 
her  case,  several  experiments  were  tried  and  questions 
tested,  with  unprecedented  results.  Her  case  was  used  for 
research  in  matters  pedagogical,  psychological  and  theological. 
But  these  are  passed  over,  as  they  lie  outside  our  present 
scope. 

Her  defect  is  often  regarded  as  almost  unique.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  if  the  deficiency  of  smell  and  taste  is  counted  with 
that  of  sight  and  hearing,  there  appear  to  be  few  cases  like 
hers ;  but  so  small  is  the  educational  value  of  the  first  two 
named,  that  she  may  be  fairly  classed  with  the  blind  deaf- 
mutes,  in  which,  for  the  most  part,  the  state  of  smell  and  taste 
is  not  recorded.  As  Prof.  Edwards  A.  Park  says  in  the 
introduction  to  Mrs.  Lamson's  book(1),  there  are  some  fifteen 
cases  recorded  of  persons  who  have  lived  as  blind  deaf-mutes. 
Dr.  Howe  formed  his  plan  for  the  instruction  of  Laura  from  the 
study  of  Julia  Brace,  who  was  a  blind  deaf-mute.  There  were 
several  similar  cases  at  the  Perkins  Institution  during  Laura's 
lifetime,  and  there  are  two  young  girls  in  that  institution 
now  who  are  defective  in  the  same  way.  Special  descriptions 
of  one  or  more  cases  have  been  given  by  Mareschal(8), 
Fowler(9),  Burdach(10),  Alessi(u),  Sichel(12),  Fuller(13)  and 
Borg(14) ;  and  Mrs.  Lamson,  in  the  current  number  of  the 
11  American  Annals  of  the  Deaf,"(5)  mentions  a  Norwegian 
girl,  Eagnhild  Kaata,  who  is  blind  and  deaf,  but  having  been 
taught  to  articulate,  can  no  longer  be  described  as  mute.  In 
the  same  article  is  mentioned  a  school  in  Sweden  where  five 
blind  deaf-mutes  are  being  instructed.  Finally,  I  may  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that  in  the  Census  of  1871  for  Great 
Britain  there  are  111  returns  for  blind  deaf-mutes(1B),  while  in 
the   10th  Census  of  the  United   States,    in  the  analysis  of 


ON    THE    BRAIN    OF    LAURA    BRLDGMAN.  7 

statistics  relating  to  the  defective,  dependent  and  delinquent 
classes  by  Wines(16),  there  are  returned: 

Blind  deaf-mutes,  256. 

Blind  deaf-mutes,  also  idiotic,        217. 

Blind  deaf-mutes,  also  insane,  30. 
The  literature  on  this  subject  would  probably  be  found  to  be 
extensive  if  carefully  gathered,  and  the  statistics,  if  taken 
from  all  sources,  would  show  a  very  considerable  number  of 
individuals  in  this  class.  It  is  my  purpose,  however,  only  to 
call  attention  in  a  general  way  to  this  point,  as  bearing  on 
our  subject.  Taking  the  Census  of  1880  for  the  United  States, 
Laura's  case  could  only  be  compared  with  the  simply  blind 
deaf-mutes — 256  in  number — and  it  would  need  a  careful 
analysis  of  this  group  in  turn,  to  show  how  many  cases  were 
strictly  comparable  with  hers.  There  is  good  reason  to 
think,  however,  that  a  number  of  such  would  be  found. 

I  do  not  know  that  we  are  in  a  position  to  say  from  sound 
data  what  the  effect  of  loss  of  the  senses — as  in  Laura's  case 
— is  on  the  mental  integrity  of  the  individual,  but  certainly 
the  proportion  of  blind  deaf-mutes  who  are  also  mentally 
defective  is  very  large.  At  the  same  time  there  is  rea- 
son to  think  that  the  large  number  of  those  who  are 
idiotic  were  either  congenitally  defective  (the  idiocy  and  the 
other  defects  having  a  cause  in  common),  or  that  they  became 
defective  shortly  after  birth,  and  were  neglected  by  those  in 
charge  of  them.  Two  points  came  out  in  a  striking  manner 
in  looking  over  these  cases  as  presented  in  the  liter- 
ature just  cited.  The  first  is,  the  small  amount  of  men- 
tal pabulum  which  serves  to  keep  the  action  of  the  mind 
normal ;  and  second,  the  late  stage  (measured  in  years) 
at  which  instruction  may  be  begun  with  fair  hope  of  success, 
the  nervous  mechanism  apparently  retaining  for  an  unusually 
long  time  the  impressionability  which  in  the  normal  person 
belongs  to  early  childhood. 

Physical  Data  and  Report  of  Autopsy. 

On  her  entrance  into  the  Perkins  Institution,  some  physical 

measurements  were  taken,  which  were  unfortunately  lost.    At 

eleven  years  of  age  her  height  was  4  ft.  1.7  in.  (1.33  M.). 

Her  head   measured  20.8   in.   (52.8  cm.)  in  circumference, 


8  DONALDSON : 

along  a  line  passing  over  the  prominences  of  the  frontal  and 
parietal  bones.  Above  this  line  the  head  rose  1.1  in.  (2.8 
cm.),  and  was  broad  and  full.  From  the  orifice  of  one  ear  to 
the  other,  the  (shortest)  distance  was  4  in.  (10.1  cm.),  and  from 
the  occipital  spine  ( protuberance  ?)  to  the  root  of  the  nose,  it 
was  (shortest  distance)  7  in.  (17.7  cm.).  The  forehead  was  said 
to  have  grown  perceptibly  larger  during  the  two  years  pre- 
ceding (2-p- 181) .  These  are  the  only  data  that  I  have  been  able  to 
find.  As  nearly  as  I  can  learn  from  those  best  acquainted  with 
her  at  the  Perkins  Institution,  her  height  at  maturity  was  5 
ft.  3  in.  (1.596  M.),  and  her  weight,  with  clothing — 98  lbs. 
avoirdupois  (44.45  kilos). 

During  her  residence  at  the  institution,  she  appears  to  have 
had  no.  serious  illness  up  to  the  time  of  the  one  which  proved 
fatal,  although  often  in  poor  health  as  the  result  of  over-exer- 
tion in  her  study  or  from  emotional  excitement,  as  for  example 
that  caused  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Howe,  to  whom  she  was 
deeply  attached.  Her  final  illness  lasted  about  three  weeks, 
and  she  sank  gradually  to  a  painless  death — before,  it  is  said, 
advancing  years  had  perceptibly  impaired  those  faculties 
which  she  exercised.  The  autopsy  was  performed  eight 
hours  after  death,  by  Dr.  E.  S.  Boland,  of  South  Boston,  in 
the  presence  of  several  gentlemen.  The  cause  of  death  is 
stated  as  lobar  pneumonia.  Aside  from  the  lungs,  the  other 
viscera  appeared  healthy  save  the  left  kidney,  which  was 
slightly  atrophied.  The  encephalon  was  removed  in  the 
dura  with  the  eyes  attached,  and  the  petrous  portions  of  the 
temporal  bones  and  part  of  the  ethmoid  were  also  taken  out. 
The  cranium  is  described  as  symmetrical  and  of  good  shape 
and  size ;  bones  thin ;  diploe  slightly  marked ;  but  little  sub- 
dural fluid ;  the  encephalon  fitting  the  cranial  cavity  closely ; 
dura  normal  in  appearance.  For  the  above  facts  I  am  directly 
indebted  to  Dr.  E.  S.  Boland.  The  encephalon  was  not  weighed 
at  this  time,  nor  was  any  further  examination  permitted.  For 
the  next  seventeen  hours  it  was  kept  in  a  moderately  cool  place, 
but  not  in  any  fluid.  At  the  end  of  this  time  it  came  into  the 
hands  of  Prof.  W.  F.  "Whitney,  who  very  kindly  took  charge 
of  it.  The  specimen  was  now  in  such  a  condition  that  it  was 
deemed  best  to  cut  it  in  various  directions,  in  order  to  permit 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.  9 

the  hardening  fluid  to  penetrate.  Four  transverse  incisions 
were  made,  the  first  being  about  3.5  cm.  from  the  frontal  end, 
and  the  other  three  at  equal  intervals  behind  it.  The  depth 
was  such  as  to  open  the  lateral  ventricles  in  either  hem- 
isphere without  injuring  the  callosum  or  basal  ganglia. 
Along  the  mesal  surface  of  each  hemisphere  a  longitudinal 
cut  was  made,  extending  about  the  length  of  the  callosum  and 
laying  open  the  lateral  ventricle  on  each  side.  The  entire 
material  was  then  put  into  several  litres  of  Muller's  fluid  plus 
one- sixth  its  volume  of  95%  alcohol.  This  fluid  was  changed 
some  four  or  five  times  in  the  period  between  May  25th  and 
July  10th,  at  which  time  the  specimen  came  into  my  posses- 
sion. The  eyes  were  then  separated  from  the  encephalon,  and 
they  with  the  portions  of  the  bones,  were  treated  by  themselves- 
The  encephalon  was  hardened  for  some  three  months  more  in 
2i  %  potassium  bichromate ;  kept  for  a  long  time  in  a  dilute 
solution  of  the  same;  finally  washed  out,  hardened  in  95% 
alcohol,  and  preserved  in  80%  alcohol.  The  majority  of  the 
measurements  were  made  while  it  was  in  the  2j%  or  dilute 
potassium  bichromate. 

Photographs  and  Models. 
In  studying  the  encephalon,  it  was  necessary  to  make  those 
observations  which  required  least  dissection  first,  and  so  pro- 
ceed that  the  different  portions  should  retain  their  normal 
connections  as  long  as  possible.  The  results,  however,  under 
any  head,  will  be  given  without  reference  to  the  order  in 
which  they  were  obtained.  As  the  complete  examination 
required  ultimately  a  dissection  of  the  encephalon,  with  con- 
sequent loss  of  form,  I  first  had  it  carefully  photographed, 
the  encephalon  being  taken  from  six  points  of  view,  and  then 
the  mesal  surface  of  each  hemisphere  taken  alone.  The 
entire  exposed  surface,  with  the  exception  of  that  covered  by 
the  cerebellum,  is  thus  represented,  and  this  latter  surface 
was  sketched.  It  would  be  extremely  desirable  to  have  these 
various  views  adequately  represented,  but  since  the  means 
for  so  doing  are  not  at  present  at  my  command,  I  have 
preferred  to  await  some  future  opportunity  rather  than  to 
represent  them  now  by  some  method  of  doubtful  value. 


10  DONALDSON  : 

It  was  further  extremely  desirable  to  have  an  accurate 
model  of  the  encephalon.  The  character  of  the  specimen,  the 
cuts  in  it  and  the  method  of  preservation  were  all  against  any 
device  for  taking  a  direct  cast  of  it.  I  was,  therefore  most 
fortunate  in  securing  the  co-operation  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Emerton,  of 
Boston,  whose  skill  in  modelling  such  objects  is  well  known. 
He  made  an  accurate  clay  model  of  the  specimen ;  from  this  a 
glue  mould  was  taken,  and  a  number  of  plaster  casts  were  at 
once  made  from  this  mould,  before  it  had  time  to  undergo 
any  distortion,  the  original  clay  model  being  preserved  for 
comparison.  The  results  are  entirely  satisfactory,  and  we 
have  now  what  is  equivalent  to  a  good  cast  of  this  specimen. 
In  making  the  model,  the  cuts  in  the  hemispheres  were  not 
represented,  and  thus  the  general  appearance  was  improved 
without  any  material  loss  in  accuracy. 

Envelopes  and  Vessels. 

Within  the  limits  of  this  paper  I  shall  have  to  deal  exclu- 
sively with  questions  relating  to  the  gross  anatomy  of  the 
specimen. 

Dura :  Sinuses  filled  with  blood.  Normal  in  appearance. 
It  was  incomplete  at  several  points  on  the  ventral  aspect  of 
the  hemispheres  and  the  cerebellum  was  completely  exposed, 
the  tentorium  and  falx  being  both  present.  This  somewhat 
defective  membrane,  including  tentorium  and  falx,  weighed, 
after  hardening  by  the  method  above  described,  washing  out 
in  water,  and  being  pressed  between  filter  papers,  54.4  grms. 
No  data  for  comparison  have  thus  far  been  found. 

Pia :  The  vessels  were  filled  with  blood.  To  all  appear- 
ance it  was  normal.  The  adherence  to  the  occipital  regions 
appeared  uncommonly  strong,  even  making  allowance  for 
the  close  adherence  which  is  normal  for  this  region.  The  pia 
from  the  entire  encephalon  with  the  choroid  plexuses,  but 
without  the  basal  blood-vessels,  was  treated  like  the  dura  and 
found  to  weigh  25.1  grms.  The  quantity  of  the  pia  obtained 
was  estimated  at  about  .8  of  the  total.  That  supposition  being 
correct,  the  total  pia  would  weigh  31.4  grms. 

What  the  influence  of  the  hardening  process  is  on  the 
weights  of  the  membranes,  dura  and  pia,  is  not  known,  but 


ON    THE    BEAIN   OF    LAUEA    BEIDGMAN.  11 

it  is  presumptively  slight.  Giacomini(17)  has  made  observa- 
tions on  the  weight  of  thep/a  and  cerebro- spinal  fluid,  which 
I  give.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  we  have  no  means  of 
knowing  the  quantity  of  the  fluid  in  our  case,  though  the 
autopsy  report  states  that  there  was  apparently  little  at  that 
time.  Confining  himself  to  the  cerebral  hemispheres,  which 
were  weighed  separately,  Giacomini  found  in  30  normal  brains 
the  weight  of  pia  an(i  residual  cerebro -spinal  fluid  (the  bulk 
of  the  fluid  having  escaped  on  the  hemisection  of  the  cere- 
brum, and  having  been  then  collected)  to  be  from  5  to  5.5%  of 
the  weight  of  the  hemispheres.  Where  the  vessels  of  the  pi  a 
were  congested,  the  percentage  might  rise  to  6  or  6.5%. 
According  to  Calori,  quoted  by  Giacomini,  the  weight  of  the 
pia,  blood  and  cerebro- spinal  fluid  for  the  whole  encephalon  is 
14%  of  the  entire  weight.  This  figure  seems  to  Giacomini  too 
high.  Huschke(18)  calculates  that  removal  of  the  pia  and 
choroidal  plexuses  from  the  cerebral  hemispheres  alone  dimin- 
ishes their  weight  by  50 — 60  grms.  (This  diminution  is 
plainly  in  part  due  to  loss  of  fluid  consequent  on  removal  of 
the  pia).  Bischoff(19)  gives  25 — 40  grms.  for  the  pia  of  the 
cerebral  hemispheres  alone.  Bastian(20)  gives  21 — 28  grms. 
for  the  pia  of  the  entire  encephalon.  Where  the  brain  is  sliced 
and  allowed  to  drain  for  1 — 2  hours,  according  to  the  method 
of  Thurnam(21),  there  is,  according  to  Bastian,  an  additional 
loss  of  28 — 56  grms.  Bischoff (19)  gives  further  figures  from 
Weisbach,  Hagen  and  Marshall,  which  I  have  not  been  able 
to  verify,  and  therefore  omit. 

There  is  here  hardly  sufficient  data  on  either  hand  for  the 
purposes  of  comparison,  but  the  assertion  may  be  fairly  made 
that  the  pia  in  our  case  shows  no  marked  peculiarity.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  conditions  do  not  permit  us  to  follow  Giacomini' s 
(17)  suggestion,  and  infer  from  the  weight  of  the  pia  its  rela- 
tive thickness. 

Volume  of  Encephalon. 

On  Aug.  13,  1889,  while  the  specimen  was  still  in  2£>% 
potassium  bichromate,  an  effort  was  made  to  obtain  the 
volume.  The  encephalon  (deprived  of  pia)  was  put  in  a 
large  jar  filled  with  water.  On  the  water  floated  a  cork,  in 
the  centre  of  which  a  long  pin  was  stuck  vertically.     A  ruler 


12  DONALDSON  : 

laid  across  the  top  of  the  jar  formed  a  line  to  the  level  of 
which  the  top  of  the  pin  rose  when  water  was  poured  into  the 
jar.  The  encephalon  being  in  the  jar,  water  was  then  added 
until  the  head  of  the  pin  was  level  with  the  edge  of  the  ruler. 
The  encephalon  was  next  removed,  with  all  precaution  as  to 
drainage,  etc. ,  and  the  quantity  of  water  was  measured  which 
had  to  be  added  to  that  in  the  jar  in  order  to  bring  the  pin- 
head  to  the  same  level.     Two  determinations  were  thus  made : 

Determination  1  gave  volume  =  1385  c.c. 
"  2     a  "       =  1381  c.c. 


Mean,  =  1383  c.c. 

This  figure,  1383  c.c,  I  have  taken  to  represent  the  volume 
under  the  conditions  stated. 

The  cuts  in  the  specimen  were  such  that  there  is  good 
reason  to  think  that  the  lateral  ventricles  were  filled  by  the 
fluid  in  which  it  was  immersed.  The  method,  I  am  aware, 
was  rough,  but  was  the  best  at  my  command  at  that  time. 
The  most  important  correction  to  be  made  is  that  for  the 
change  of  volume  of  the  specimen  due  to  the  process  of 
hardening  to  which  it  had  been  subjected.  On  this  point 
some  experiments  have  been  made,  which  are  not  yet  ready 
for  publication.  I  shall,  however,  use  the  facts  obtained 
without  further  proof,  trusting  that  I  may  soon  be  able  to 
give  evidence  of  their  correctness.  To  save  any  repetition, 
it  may  be  here  stated  that  the  experiments  just  mentioned 
relate  to  the  volume,  weight  and  specific  gravity  of  the 
encephalon,  and  will  be  introduced  under  their  proper 
headings  without  further  remark. 

If  an  encephalon  is  treated  like  that  of  Laura  (from  six 
to  twelve  hours  after  death),  the  conditions  for  its  preserva- 
tion in  the  mean  time  having  been  good,  it  will  show  an  in- 
crease equal  to  about  25%  of  the  initial  volume.  This, 
however,  takes  place  only  when  the  specimen  is  fairly  fresh. 
When  it  is  not  fresh,  but  still  hardens  slowly  and  incompletely, 
the  increase  may  be  about  2%  of  the  initial  volume.  In  our  case 
it  is  a  fair  estimate  that  one-third  of  the  initial  mass  of  the 
encephalon  is  hardened  so  as  to  have  undergone  an  increase 
of    but    2%   in    volume,    while    the    other    two-thirds    may 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         13 

be  considered  to  have  undergone  the  full  enlargement  of  25%. 
Making  use  of  the  above  percentage  for  correction,  the  volume 
observed  would  be  ff  of  the  initial  volume,  or 

1383x75 

=  1178  c.c.  =  initial  volume. 

88 

The  value  of  this  figure  is  simply  that  of  the  best  approxi- 
mation which  I  can  now  make. 

Weight 
At  the  same  time  that  the  volume  was  taken  the  specimen 
was  weighed.  The  weight  thus  obtained  (on  balances  weigh- 
ing to  0.1  grm.)  was  1389.5  grins.,  the  pia  being  completely- 
removed.  The  hardening  of  the  specimen  had  caused  it 
to  increase  in  weight  about  22%  for  those  parts  which 
were  well  hardened.  The  same  conditions  determine  the 
amount  of  this  increase  in  weight  that  determine  the  increase 
in  volume,  and  when  the  specimen  hardens  imperfectly  the 
increase  in  weight  is  a  trifle  less  than  2%,  but  may 
be  called  2%  for  the  present  purpose.  Supposing,  as 
before,  that  two-thirds  of  the  initial  brain-mass  have  in- 
creased 22%  in  weight,  and  one-third  2%,  we  have,  1389.5 
grms.  =  Hi  of  the  initial  weight,  or 

1389.5x150 

=  1204  grms.  =  initial  weight. 

173 

Any  criticism  which  can  be  applied  to  the  volume  can  also  be 

applied  to  the  weight  as  thus  deduced. 

The  initial   specific   gravity   of  this    encephalon    or   any 

portion   of   it  is  not  known,   but  if  we  deduce  it  from  the 

calculated  weight  and  volume,  it  is  1.022.     This  is  a  smaller 

figure  than  Bischoff(19)  found.    For  female  brains,  his  figures 

are  from  1.0305  to  1.0478.     The  determination  of  the  weight 

in  this  case  is,  in  my  opinion,  less  subject  to  error  than  the 

determination  of  the  volume.     If  we  consider  a  brain  of  this 

weight  to  have  either  of  the  extreme  specific  gravities  given 

by  Bischoff  or  one  represented  by  their  mean,  we  have  for  a 

brain  weighing  1204  grms., 

sp.  gr.    1.0305  giving  a  volume  =  1168  c.c. 
"     "      1.0391       "  "        =1158  c.c. 

"     "       1.0478      "  "        =1149  c.c. 


14  DONALDSON  : 

Thus  furnishing  figures  for  the  volume  which  are  10,  20,  and 
29  c.  c.  below  those  first  calculated. 

Further  manipulation  of  these  figures  would  be  of  little 
value.  It  is  concluded,  however,  that  the  probable  weight  of 
Laura's  brain  was  somewhat  over  1200  grins.,  and  that  the 
probable  volume  was  about  1160  c.  c. 

The  mean  weight  for  the  English  and  European  female 
encephalon  is  variously  given.  Bischoff(19),  1214.5  grins.; 
Tiedemann,  1275  grms.;  and  Huschke,  1272  grms. 
Schwalbe(22)  gives  1245  grms.,  as  deduced  from  a  composite 
table  of  weights.  This  table  further  shows  that  out  of  the  339 
cases  which  it  includes,  283  have  a  weight  between  1100  and 
1420  grms.,  and  the  majority  (two-thirds)  of  these  in  turn  have 
a  weight  between  1160  and  1330  grms.  Our  specimen,  there- 
fore, falls  within  these  last  limits,  but  somewhat  below  the 
mean,  1245  grms.  The  figure  which  we  have  obtained 
will  not  warrant  any  discussion  of  the  weight  in  rela- 
tion to  other  conditions  of  age,  body-weight  and  height. 
It  may  nevertheless  be  pointed  out  that  our  specimen 
had  probably  not  undergone  any  important  loss  of  weight 
due  to  advancing  age,  and  that  furthermore  it  is  possible 
that  the  figures  which  have  led  to  the  generalization  that 
at  about  sixty  years  the  encephalon  begins  to  lose  in  weight, 
may  perhaps,  as  has  been  suggested,  be  as  well  explained  by 
some  relation  not  yet  investigated,  between  brain  weight  and 
longevity. 

Of  the  subdivisions  of  the  encephalon,  the  cerebellum  alone 
was  weighed  separately.  It  was  separated  from  its  connec- 
tions by  cutting  through  the  peduncles  as  close  to  the  hemi- 
spheres as  was  practicable.  The  portion  thus  removed 
weighed  163  grms.  The  increase  in  weight  due  to  hardening 
is  about  27%  for  the  cerebellum,  which  would  make 
the  initial  weight  128  grms.  Taking  the  weight  of  the  entire 
encephalon  as  1204  grms.,  then  the  cerebellum  is  10.63% 
of  the  entire  weight.  This  percentage  is  exactly  that 
found  by  Weisbach  and  0.17%  lower  than  that  found  by 
Meynert,  as  quoted  by  Schwalbe(-).  It  serves  to  show  that 
there  was  nothing  very  peculiar  in  the  weight  relations  of  the 
cerebellum  to  the  rest  of  the  encephalon  in  this  case.     The 


ON    THE    BRAIN   OF    LAURA    BRIDGMAN.  15 

other  weights  which  are  usually  recorded  could  not  be 
taken,  because  further  dissection  of  the  brain  was  impracti- 
cable in  view  of  the  other  observations  to  be  made  on  it. 

Linear  Measurements. 
On  is  ov.  4,  1889,  the  following  measurements  were  made : 

Greatest  length  of  left  hemisphere,  178  mm. 

"  "         right       "  180  mm.* 

The  maximum  width  of  cerebrum,  153  mm. 

The  maximum  height  of  cerebrum,  129  mm. 

The  longest  perpendicular  distance,  taken  on  the  mesal 
aspect  of  each  hemisphere,  from  the  line  measuring 
the  length  of  the  hemispheres  to  the  dorsal  surface, 
is  in  this  case  the  same  for  both  hemispheres,  73  mm. 

The  encephalon  being  in  the  normal  position,  the 
distance  between  a  perpendicular  plane  just  touching 
the  tips  of  the  temporal  lobes  and  one  just  touching 
the  tips  of  the  frontal  lobes  was  found  to  be  57  mm. 

Schwalbe'sC22)  figures  for  similar  dimensions  in  the  female 
brain  are,  greatest  length  in  the  majority  of  cases,  from  150 
to  160  mm.,  the  limits  being  112-189  mm.  (Huschke).  The 
mean  breadth  is  given  at  140  mm.,  whereas  the  height  is 
given  at  125  mm.  For  the  longest  perpendicular  as  above 
described,  and  the  distance  from  the  tip  of  the  temporal  to 
the  tip  of  the  frontal  lobes,  I  find  no  data  that  are  comparable. 
For  comparison  on  the  last  measurement,  I  have  used  three 
male  brains  which  were  hardened  in  bichromate  and  alcohol 
in  the  usual  manner,  and  which  are  nearly  the  same  length 
as  our  specimen,  (from  2  to  11  mm.  longer).  In  these  the 
temporo- frontal  distance,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  was  respectively 
47,  41  and  51  mm.,  as  compared  with  57  mm.   in  Laura. 

Of  course,  the  swelling  of  the  encephalon  due  to  hardening 
has  increased  all  three  diameters,  and  so  the  figures  given  for 
Laura  cannot  be  compared  with  those  from  Schwalbe  until 
some  correction  has  been  made  in  them.  Such  correction  I 
am  at  present  unable  to  make.  Assuming,  however,  that  the 
enlargement  along  the  several  diameters  is  proportional  to 
their   initial  length,   we   can   make  the   calculation  for  the 

*  Where  similar  measurements  for  the  two  halves  of  the  brain  are 
given,  the  larger  figure  is  in  heavier  type.  It  is  hoped  that  this  device 
will  render  the  comparison  of  the  two'  sides  easier. 


16  DONALDSON  : 

cerebral  index,  the  mean  length  being  taken  as  179  mm.,  and 
breadth  153  mm.  The  so-called  cerebral  index,  obtained  by 
dividing  the  latter  by  the  former,  equals  85+,  showing  the 
cerebrum  to  be  markedly  brachycephalic.  The  excessive 
temporo-frontal  distance  appears  plainly  to  be  due  to  deficient 
development  of  the  temporal  lobes. 

General  Description  of  the  Encephalon. 

In  order  to  give  some  data  for  the  control  of  the  foregoing 
measurements,  a  general  description  of  the  specimen  will  be 
useful.  To  the  medulla  was  attached  a  piece  of  the  cord 
which  extended  17  mm.  from  the  superficial  caudal  termina- 
tion of  the  decussation  of  the  pyramids.  This  length  was 
about  that  usually  obtained  where  the  cord  is  cut  through 
the  foramen  magnum.  The  shape  of  the  specimen  was  well 
preserved,  owing  to  its  having  been  hardened  in  the  dura. 
The  angle  between  the  stem  and  cerebrum  was  approxi- 
mately normal,  and  the  relation  of  the  cerebellum  and  hemi- 
spheres therefore  but  little  disturbed.  The  hemispheres 
overlapped  the  cerebellum  slightly.  The  vessels  forming  the 
circle  of  Willis  were  certainly  not  large.  Of  the  internal 
carotids  the  right  was  the  larger,  but  only  slightly  so,  and  the 
posterior  communicating  arteries  were  small,  even  in  propor- 
tion to  the  other  vessels. 

In  passing  now  to  the  several  subdivisions,  no  effort  will 
be  made  to  give  a  complete  description,  for  the  nature  of  the 
specimen  is  not  such  as  to  demand  that,  and  all  exact 
measurements  will  be  left  until  the  parts  are  studied  histologi- 
cally. 

Medulla  and  Pons. — The  nerves  from  this  region  were 
identified,  except  the  spinal  accessory,  which  could  not  be 
found,  having  been  probably  pulled  away  in  removal  of  the 
specimen.  Here,  of  course,  it  is  the  glossopharyngeus,  the 
acusticus  and  the  abducens  associated  respectively  with  the 
sense  of  taste,  of  hearing,  and  the  external  rectus  muscle  of 
the  eye-bail,  that  are  of  special  interest.  These  appeared 
somewhat  reduced  in  size,  though  all  the  cranial  nerves  were 
small.  On  the  ventral  aspect  of  this  region,  neither  the 
olivary  bodies  nor  the  pyramids  were  prominent.   The  anterior 


OX  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAX.         17 

median  sulcus  between  the  pyramids  was  well  marked,  as 
was  the  ventral  depression  on  the  pons.  On  the  lateral 
aspect,  the  corpora  restiformia  appear  well  developed.  On  the 
dorsal  aspect,  the  floor  of  the  fourth  ventricle  was  seen  to  be 
clearly  marked.  There  was  a  well  developed  ligula  and  obex. 
The  nuclei  of  the  columnce  graciles  made  evident  swellings  in 
the  course  of  the  dorsal  columns  of  the  cord,  those  of  the  column 
of  Burdach  being  less  marked.  On  the  floor  of  the  ventricle, 
the  alee  cinerece  and  trigona  hypoglossi  were  very  evident. 
The  strive  acusticce  or  medullares  were  particularly  clear.  The 
point  is  of  interest,  since  the  striae  are  looked  upon  as  part  of 
the  auditory  path  in  this  region.  A  more  detailed  description 
of  them  will  be  given  later. 

Cerebellum. — As  we  have  seen,  the  cerebellum  has  thus 
far  offered  no  peculiarity.  The  peduncular  connections  were 
as  usual,  and  a  sagittal  section  shows  the  arbor  vitae  with  the 
characteristic  sub- divisions.  In  the  general  conformation, 
there  was  nothing  to  excite  remark. 

Mid-brain. — The  oculo-motor  nerves  were,  perhaps,  a 
trifle  small.  The  trochlearis  was  not  found.  On  the  ventro- 
lateral surface,  a  search  for  tractus  peduncularis  transversus 
of  v.  Gudden(23),  which  appears  to  have  some  connection  with 
visual  apparatus,  was  unsuccessful.  However,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  this  tract  is  not  always  superficial  in  normal 
individuals,  and  therefore  failure  to  detect  it  is  not  proof  that 
it  has  degenerated.  On  the  dorsal  aspect,  the  frenulum  was 
well  marked.  The  posterior  pair  of  the  corpora  quadrigemina 
was  rather  small,  but  well  rounded  and  both  alike.  The 
median  groove,  the  transverse  groove  separating  them  from 
the  anterior  pair,  and  the  brachia,  were  all  well  marked.  The 
anterior  pair  of  the  corpora  quadrigemina  were  much  flattened 
towards  the  middle  line.     Brachia  not  evident. 

As  the  result  of  the  cuts  necessarily  made  to  allow  the 
entrance  of  the  hardening  fluid,  and  the  failure  of  this  region 
to  harden,  subsequent  dissection  has  yielded  but  small  results. 
Of  the  condition  of  the  corpora  geniculata  on  the  right  side, 
nothing  can  be  said.  On  the  left  side  the  corpus  geniculatum 
internum  can  alone  be  described,  and  this  was  comparatively 
large  and  prominent. 


18  DONALDSON  : 

Inter-brain. — On  the  left  side  of  the  specimen  the  pul- 
vinar  had  been  preserved,  and  there  it  was  reduced  in  all 
dimensions,  and  but  little  arched ;  on  the  other  side  it  had 
broken  away  and  could  not  be  described.  The  caudal  portion  of 
the  third  ventricle  was  large.  There  was  a  well  developed  me- 
dian and  posterior  commissure.  The  general  lack  of  develop- 
ment in  thisinter-thalamic  region  is  not  shared  in  by  the  pineal 
gland  and  its  connections,  the  habenulm  and  trigona  habe- 
n  ulaz}  which  were  disproportionately  enlarged — an  enlargement 
which  is  probably  due  to  the  removal  of  pressure  from 
the  surrounding  structures.  Turning  now  to  the  ventral 
surface,  the  corpora  mammittaria  and,  it  may  be  added, 
the  fornix,  were  normal.  About  the  pituitary  body,  there 
was  nothing  peculiar,  but  the  infundibulum  is  prolonged 
ventrad  to  an  unusual  degree,  and  is  bounded  on  either  side 
by  the  greatly  shrunken  optic  tracts.  The  relations  of  the 
anterior  commissure  in  view  of  its  connection  with  the  olfac- 
tory centres  would  have  been  interesting,  but  the  specimen 
did  not  show  this  commissure,  owing  to  imperfect  preserva- 
tion. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  callosum  and  the  hemispheres,  it 
may  be  well  to  consider  what  we  should  expect  to  find  in  these 
portions.  There  is  no  suggestion  in  this  case  that  would  lead 
us  to  anticipate  appearances  such  as  are  recorded  for  micro- 
cephalic, criminal,  or  low-type  brains  belonging  to  the  least 
civilized  races.  Neither  is  the  case  to  be  associated  with 
those  in  which  the  defect  or  arrest  of  development  was  due  to 
causes  originating  within  the  central  nervous  system.  There 
was  not  the  slightest  indication  of  abnormal  mental  action,  and 
therefore  the  brain  would  not  be  expected  to  resemble  that  of 
the  insane,  if  for  the  moment  we  admit  that  the  brains  of  the 
insane  show  gross  peculiarities.  What  we  have  is  the  brain  of 
a  normal  person  who  lost  at  about  two  years  of  age  the 
senses  of  sight,  hearing,  smell  and  taste,  through  injury  to  the 
peripheral  sense-organs,  but  who  remained  mentally  balanced 
throughout  a  long  life,  though  under  conditions  which  would 
favor  mental  derangement,  had  the  tendency  to  it  existed.  This 
loss  would  have  but  a  moderate  power  to  destroy  what  was  al- 
ready formed  in  the  brain,  though  it  would  do  so  to  some  extent. 


ON    THE   BRAIN    OF   LAUEA    BEIDGMAN.  19 

The  chief  effect  -would  be  to  retard  the  further  development 
of  those  portions  which  represented  the  lost  senses,  but  even 
here  the  hereditary  laws  of  growth  would  act  to  some  extent 
independently  of  the  modifying  conditions  which  existed  in 
such  a  case. 

As  a  point  of  departure,  then,  it  would  be  interesting  to 
know  what  was  the  state  of  development  of  an  average  female 
brain  at  the  commencement  of  the  third  year  of  life.  If  we  take 
1245  grms.  as  the  average  weight  of  the  female  encephalon, 
we  find  that  at  the  commencement  of  the  third  year  or  end  of 
the  second,  the  average  weight  is  about  920  grms.  for  females. 
[See  Boyd's  tables  quoted  by  Schwalbe(22),  and  Bischoff's(19) 
table  of  five  observations,  made  up  from  those  of  Huschke 
and  Sims.  The  figures  quoted  by  Vierordt(24)  are  not  available, 
because  no  distinction  of  sex  is  made,  and,  as  is  well  known, 
such  a  distinction  exists  at  birth  and  even  in  the  foetus.]  If  920 
grms.  is  the  true  figure,  then  at  this  age  the  weight  of  the 
encephalon  is  about  three-fourths  that  of  the  adult.  As  the 
specific  gravity  is  somewhat  less,  its  volume  is  proportion- 
ately a  trifle  greater. 

On  the  relations  of  the  nerve-cells  and  fibres,  not  much  can 
be  said  that  is  satisfactory.  Whether  we  have  the  elements 
all  formed  at  birth,  and  they  undergo  simply  an  increase  in 
size  during  the  subsequent  processes  of  growth,  so-called, 
or  whether  we  have  new  elements  formed  after  birth,  is  a 
question  for  the  decision  of  which  the  evidence  is  as  yet  scanty. 
Schiller(25),  at  ForePs  suggestion,  determined  with  due  pre- 
cautions the  number  of  nerve-fibers  in  the  oculo-motorhts  of 
kittens  at  birth,  and  cats  at  the  end  of  the  first  year,  and  found 
practically  the  same  number  in  both  cases.  In  this  animal  and 
this  nerve  the  number  of  fibers,  then,  does  not  increase  after 
birth.  In  man,  however,  the  period  of  helplessness  and 
development  after  birth  is  comparatively  long,  and  Below(2G) 
has  found  in  animals  that  the  cortical  cells  are  less  developed 
in  those  born  helpless  than  in  those  born  in  a  more  mature 
state.  Incompleteness  in  the  development  of  the  central 
nerve- cells  would  favor  the  idea  that  they  might  still  undergo 
multiplication  after  birth.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  develop- 
ment of  the  cortical  cells  in  the  human  foetus  is  incomplete 


20  DONALDSON  : 

at  birth  (Obersteiner27-p- m),  and  the  development  of  medullated 
fibers  far  more  incomplete.  The  medullation  of  fibers  is  con- 
tinually going  on  during  the  early  years  of  life,  and  there  is 
evidence  that  it  is  for  the  most  part  completed  about  the 
eighth  year.  For  those  who  hold  that  practically  the  number 
of  elements  is  fixed  at  birth,  the  increase  in  the  size  of  exist- 
ing elements,  and  especially  the  medullation  of  the  fibers,  are 
the  causes  of  the  enlargement  of  the  encephalon.  If  such  is 
the  case,  however,  and  Galton'sC28)  measurements  on  the 
heads  of  Cambridge  undergraduates  mean  what  he  takes  them 
to  mean,  i.  e.,  brain  growth,  then  the  process  of  medullation 
or  enlargement,  or  both,  must  continue  in  some  cases  up  to 
the  twenty-fifth  year. 

If  we  turn  now  to  the  sulci  and  gyri,  we  find  all  the  im- 
portant ones  present  at  birth  [Ecker(29),  Eiidinger(45)] . 
At  that  time,  the  cerebral  surface  is  marked  in  a  typical  man- 
ner, and  according  to  Ecker  the  asymmetries  which  occur  in 
the  sulci  are  caused  by  the  later  development  of  accessory 
sulci.  What  the  history  of  these  accessory  sulci  may  be,  has 
not,  I  believe,  been  studied,  and  how  far  they  may  be 
developed  during  the  first  two  years  of  life,  is  therefore 
an  open  question ;  but  a  priori  one  would  imagine  that 
the  earliest  years  of  life  would  be  the  time  when  they 
would  appear.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  seems  highly  probable 
that  the  relations  of  the  primary  and  secondary  sulci 
are  fixed  to  a  large  extent  at  birth,  and  that  subsequent 
development  has  but  a  slight  influence  in  altering  these  rela- 
tions. 

In  the  child  at  birth,  and  during  the  first  years  of  life,  the  rel- 
ative development  of  the  several  lobes  of  the  brain  is  not  the 
same  as  in  the  adult.  Designating  the  lobes  as  occipital,  tem- 
poral, insular,  parietal  and  frontal,  Bischoff(19)  states  that  it  is 
the  last  two  which  develope  most  in  later  years,  and  of  these  the 
parietal  undergoes  the  greatest  enlargement ;  but  the  observa- 
tions on  this  point  are  few. 

Applying  the  above  conclusions  to  our  case,  we  may 
describe  Laura's  brain  at  the  age  of  two  years  as  hav- 
ing about  three  fourths  of  its  adult  weight,  the  cells  of 
the  cortex  being  fairly  developed,  whereas  the  medullation 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         21 

of  the  fibers  was  incomplete  to  a  considerable  degree.  The 
primary  and  secondary  snlci  were  all  present,  and  probably 
some  of  the  accessory  sulci  also ;  and  the  parietal  and  frontal 
lobes  were  less  developed  than  they  should  be  in  the  adult. 
If  the  eattosum  is  commissural  for  the  different  portions  of 
the  cerebral  cortex,  we  might  expect  it  to  accompany  the 
cortex  in  development.  In  the  absence,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
of  explicit  observations  on  this  point,  we  may  assume  the 
eattosum  well  developed  at  this  age. 

On  such  a  brain  as  we  have  described,  what  would  be  the 
effect  of  a  lesion,  like  that  which  occurred  in  the  case  of  Laura? 
The  nerves  and  their  primary  centres  would  show  degeneration, 
and  later  some  atrophy,  then  after  the  lapse  of  time,  arrest  of 
development,  in  so  far  as  they  were  incompletely  developed  at 
the  date  of  the  injury.  In  the  cortical  regions,  so  far  as 
they  might  be  affected,  we  should  probably  expect  some 
arrest  of  development  which  would  show  itself  on  gross 
examination,  and  certainly  some  histological  indications  of 
arrest  and  possibly  degeneration.  Further,  as  one  result 
of  the  limitation  in  mental  activity  due  to  the  great 
defect  in  the  senses,  a  general  appearance  of  immaturity 
might  be  anticipated,  while  if  certain  lobes  were  affected  more 
than  others,  a  disproportion  in  development  as  compared 
with  the  normal  would  result.  It  seemed  advisable  to  make 
some  analysis  of  the  case  at  this  point,  in  order  that  no 
ungrounded  expectation  of  striking  anomalies  might  be 
cherished,  and  it  will  be  the  chief  purpose  of  the  following 
pages  to  show  in  how  far  actual  observations  bear  out  the 
views  above  advanced. 

Cattosum. — The  eattosum  was  well  developed.  On  the 
surface  exposed  by  a  sagittal  section  dividing  the  two  hemi- 
spheres, the  distance  of  a  straight  line  between  the  extreme 
points  was  82  mm.,  while  a  line  following  the  dorsal  curve  and 
joining  the  same  points,  is  87  mm.  long.  The  height  or  thick- 
ness, as  one  chooses  to  call  it,  always  measured  vertically  (the 
hemispheres  being  in  the  normal  position)  is  22  mm.  at  the 
rostral  end,  12  mm.  in  the  middle,  and  15  mm.  at  the  splenial 
end.  The  area  of  surface  exposed  by  the  section  was  1172  sq. 
mm.  The  linear  measurements  exceed  somewhat  those  given  by 


22  DONALDSON  : 

Krause(30_I5d•2•p•965),  especially  those  for  the  thickness,  but  I  am 
not  sure  that  mine  were  taken  in  the  same  way  as  his  were ;  and 
furthermore,  his  apply  to  the  fresh  specimen,  while  this  was 
swollen  by  hardening.  Comparison  with  other  specimens 
hardened  in  potassium  bichromate,  shows  these  figures  never- 
theless to  be  large.  From  gross  examination,  therefore,  the 
callosum  appears  to  have  developed  completely. 

Cerebral  hemispheres. — On  looking  at  the  hemispheres, 
the  general  shape  appears  normal,  but  they  are  somewhat 
flattened  at  the  occipital  pole.  The  temporal  lobe  is  compar- 
atively small,  the  tip  being  thin,  and  on  the  orbital  surface  of 
each  hemisphere  at  the  cephalic  end  is  a  marked  conical  eleva- 
tion of  the  general  surfaces  with  the  apex  directed  ventrad. 
This  elevation  appears  on  either  side  of  the  median  line, 
just  in  front  of  the  point  where  the  sulcus  olfactorius 
terminates.  As  the  formation  is  not  usually  described, 
and  is  only  faintly  suggested  in  most  brains,  it  is  prob- 
ably an  anomaly  due,  in  this  case,  to  the  failure  of  the 
orbital  plates  of  the  frontal  bone  to  develop  in  the  usual 
manner,  thus  leaving  more  of  a  depression  in  the  bone  at  this 
point  than  ordinarily  occurs.  To  this  depression  the  brain 
has  accommodated  itself,  with  the  result  of  producing  the 
appearance  described.  When  viewed  from  above,  the  general 
effect  was  quite  similar  to  the  typical  female  brain,  as  depicted 
by  Wagner(31),  the  chief  difference  being  that  our  specimen  was 
not  quite  so  pointed  in  the  frontal  region  as  Wagner's  plate  of 
the  female  brain,  and  had  the  gyri  in  the  occipital  region  in  less 
relief.  The  gyri  were  for  the  most  part  widely  separated  from 
one  another,  especially  in  the  frontal  and  parietal  lobes  whereas 
in  the  occipital  they  tended  to  be  close  together.  In  general, 
the  gyri  were  large,  but  little  interrupted  and  moderately 
sinuous,  and  the  insula  was  more  exposed  on  the  left  than  on 
the  right  side.  The  typical  arrangement  of  the  gyri  was  easily 
followed,  and  the  two  hemispheres  quite  symmetrical  in  their 
markings.  The  symmetry  of  the  hemispheres,  the  continuity 
and  size  of  the  gyri,  may  be  taken  as  indicating  an  average  or 
perhaps  less  than  average  development  in  these  respects.  Such 
a  statement  has,  however,  so  little  foundation  that  is  measur- 
able and  exact,  that  it  will  be  best  to  leave  it  in  the  form  of  a 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         23 

mere  suggestion.  There  is  some  departure  from  symmetry 
in  the  two  hemispheres,  where,  on  the  mesal  surface  of  the 
occipital  region,  the  ventro- caudal  portion  is  smaller  in  the 
right  hemisphere.  This  is  shown  in  an  exaggerated  way  in 
Plate  II,  Fig.  4. 

As  illustrating  the  general  development  of  this  specimen,  I 
introduce  here  several  measurements  which  were  made  while 
the  brain  was  in  potassium  bichromate. 

Taking  the  smaller  angle  which  the  Jissura  centralis  makes 

with  the  middle  line,  following  the  method  of  Eberstaller(32), 

it  was  found  to  be, 

For  left  hemisphere,        65c- 
For  right  hemisphere,      61°. 

This  is  smaller  than  is  usually  stated.  WilderC88)  gives  67° 
as  an  average,  and  Eberstaller  70°-75°. 

If  we  take  the  entire  length  of  the  mesal  edge  of  the  hemi- 
spheres measuring  from  the  trigonum  olfactorium  to  the 
occipital  pole,  and  then  the  distance  from  the  trigonum  olfac- 
torium to  the  point  where  the  Jissura  centralis  reaches  the 
mesal  surface,  we  obtain  the  following  figures : 

Left  hemisphere,  entire  distance,  334   mm. 

Right        "  "  "  331    mm. 

Left  hemisphere,  distance  to  Jissura  centralis,  214.5  mm. 

Right       "  "  "  "  216   mm. 

This,  reckoned  in  per  cent,  of  the  entire  distance,  gives  the 
last  distance  or  extent  of  frontal  lobe  along  this  line,    as 

Left  hemisphere,      64+%. 
Right  hemisphere,   65+%- 

Eberstaller(32)  gives  for  the  female  brain,  66%.  Our  figures, 
therefore,  approximate  closely  to  his  average.  Measuring  the 
Jissura  Sylvii  on  each  side  from  the  point  where  it  gives  off 
the  anterior  rami  to  the  point  where  it  gives  off  the  ramus 
posterior  ascendens,  it  was  found, 

For  the  left  hemisphere,        53  mm. 
For  the  right        "  52  mm. 

This  makes  it  shorter  than  the  average  figures  for  females 
found  by  Eberstaller(32),  which  was  56.5  mm. 

Among  these  figures,  one  set  (namely  that  for  the 
position   of   the   mesal  end  of  the  Jissura   centralis)   is   in 


24  DONALDSON  : 

percentage,  and  that  agrees  fairly  well  with  the  results  of 
other  authors.  It  may  be  presumed,  then,  that  in  hardening 
the  encephalon  has  not  undergone  much  distortion.  If  that 
is  true,  then  the  small  angle  of  the  Jissura  centralis  with  the 
middle  line  is  probably  a  true  relation.  Despite  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  specimen,  the  length  of  the  Jissura  Sylvii  as  meas- 
ured is  under  the  average,  but  the  relations  of  the  two  sides 
are  as  Eberstaller  found  ;  that  is,  the  left  is  the  longer. 

The  condition  of  the  ventricles  was  not  easily  made  out, 
owing  to  the  state  of  the  specimen  and  the  cuts  in  it,  which 
somewhat  disturbed  the  connections  here.  The  lateral  ventri- 
cles were  certainly  not  large.  The  descending  cornua  were  well 
developed,  but  the  right  posterior  comu  terminated  47  mm. 
in  front  of  the  occipital  pole.  In  the  left  hemisphere  it 
reaches  to  within  42  mm.  of  the  occipital  pole,  and  there 
is  a  well  developed  calcar  which  was  not  observed  on  the 
right  side. 

Description  of  the  Surface  of  the  Hemispheres. 

As  was  stated  earlier,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  describe  in 
detail  the  cerebral  surface  in  this  case, — as  good  plates  would 
give  a  far  better  idea  than  could  be  obtained  from  the  text, — 
so  that  on  this  occasion  I  shall  be  content  with  some  outline 
figures  and  a  description  of  those  regions  which  may  be 
regarded  as  important.  The  four  representations  of  the 
specimen  were  drawn  from  photographs  by  means  of  a  pan- 
tograph. From  these  drawings  the  plates  were  made  by  one 
of  the  photo-engraving  processes.  In  the  figures  those  sulci 
which  are  more  constant  are  put  in  with  a  heavy  line,  whereas 
the  others  are  in  light  lines.  In  the  case  of  the  fissure  of 
Sylvius  an  approximate  presentation  of  the  amount  of  separ- 
ation of  the  gyri  has  been  attempted.  In  the  description  I 
shall  follow  Eberstaller(32-34)  in  most  points  and  also  adopt 
his  nomenclature. 

Frontal  Region. — In  Figures  I  and  II,  the  sulcus  frontalis 
medius,  f  3,  is  clearly  marked,  thus  giving  the  four  frontal 
gyri,  (by  sub-division  of  the  gyrus  frontalis  medius,) 
which  the  more  recent  authors  are  agreed  is  the  normal 
condition  of  the  frontal  lobe.     [Eberstaller (32),  "Wilder^), 


ON    THE   BRAIN   OF    LAURA   BRIDGMAN.  25 

Giacoraini(17).]  To  be  noticed  on  the  left  side  is  the  union  of 
the  sulcus  frontalis  inferior,  f  2,  with  the  sulcus  fronto- 
marginalis,  fm3,  which  appears  somewhat  unusual.  Fur- 
ther, on  the  same  side  the  ramus  anterior  horizontalis  fissuraz 
Sylvii,  S  3,  runs  into  the  sulcus  fronto-marginalis,  fm  1, 
but  at  the  junction  there  is  a  vadum  or  shallow,  (see 
Wilder, S3)  which  clearly  marks  the  usual  limits  of  this  ramus. 
Aside  from  these  points  the  fissuration  of  both  frontal  lobes 
is  quite  typical.  Directing  attention  to  the  gyrus  fron talis 
inferior  we  find  it  well  defined  laterally  and  frontally,  but  as 
is  usual,  poorly  defined  on  the  orbital  surface.  In  its  entirety 
that  of  the  left  does  not  differ  much  from  that  of  the  right 
hemisphere,  but  there  are  some  differences  in  detail.  Dividing 
the  opercular  portions  into  the  pars  orbitalis  ventrad  of  S  3  ; 
pars  triangularis  between  S  3  and  S  2 ;  pars  ascendens  be- 
tween S  2  and  d :  and  the  pars  basila?'is  between  d  and  pci, 
we  find  the  pars  basilaris  much  less  well  developed  on  the 
left  side,  being  especially  deficient  in  its  ventral  portions. 
The  pars  ascendens  is  deficient  throughout  on  the  left  side 
while  the  pars  triangularis  is  somewhat  better  developed  on 
this  side  than  on  the  right.  A  comparison  of  the  orbital  areas 
is  not  practicable  in  this  case.  It  should  be  added  that,  on 
the  left  side  not  only  is  the  exposed  surface  of  the  pars 
basilaris  and  pars  ascendens  smaller,  but  both  these  are 
sunken  below  the  surrounding  gyri ;  the  former  completely 
and  the  latter  in  its  ventral  portion,  the  frontal  edge  of  the 
gyrus  centralis  anterior  forming  a  slight  operculum  over  the 
pars  basilaris. 

It  is  our  purpose  of  course  to  determine  whether  these 
features  of  the  left  side  can  be  properly  brought  into 
connection  with  the  very  limited  power  of  articulate  speech 
possessed  by  Laura.  There  is  good  ground  for  the  view  that 
in  right  handed  persons  it  is  the  portion  of  the  gyrus  frontalis 
inferior  of  the  left  side  between  the  ramus  anterior  ascendens 
Ussurce  Sylvii,  S2,  and  the  sulcus  prcecentralis  inferior,  pci, 
that  is  the  centre  for  articulate  speech.  So  far  as  known 
Laura  was  right  handed.  According  to  Eberstaller(32_p- 104),  the 
pars  basilaris  may  often  be  sunken,  but  in  such  cases,  where 
the  brain  is  normal,  the  pars  ascendens  overlaps  and  more  or 


26  DONALDSON  : 

less  conceals  it.  In  this  case  no  such  overlapping  occurs. 
Several  authors  have  called  attention  to  the  value  of  the  com- 
parison of  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  same  brain  where  a 
lesion  was  suspected  on  one  side,  and  judged  by  that  test  we 
certainly  have  defective  development  of  this  gyrus  on  the  left 
side.  A  variation,  however,  which  seems  to  me  of  consider- 
able importance,  is  the  direction  of  the  sulcus  diagonalis,  d. 
One  characteristic  of  this  sulcus  is  that  in  the  normal  brain 
its  dorsal  end  lies  further  caudad  than  the  ventral  end.  On 
the  left  side  in  Laura  this  direction  of  the  sulcus  is  reversed, 
the  ventral  end  being  further  caudad  and  to  all  appearance  it 
occupies  this  anomalous  position  because  the  ventral  portion 
of  the  pars  basil  aris  has  failed  to  develop.  On  the  right 
side  it  has  the  normal  direction. 

In  this  connection  the  exposure  of  the  insula  is  significant. 
I  estimate  this  exposure  for  Laura  : 

On  the  left  side,  128  sq.  mm. 

On  the  right  side,  46  sq.  mm. 

That  is,  the  surface  of  the  insula  exposed  on  the  left  side  is 
nearly  three  times  that  exposed  on  the  right.  In  looking  at 
the  collection  of  brains  in  the  museum  of  Cornell  University — a 
collection  which  has  been  gathered  by  Prof.  B.  G.  Wilder, — 
I  found  no  exposure  of  the  insula  which  approached  even 
that  on  the  right  side  in  Laura,  save  in  the  left  hemisphere  of  a 
negro  (catalogue  number,  322),  in  which  the  exposure  was 
somewhat  less  than  on  the  right  hemisphere  in  our  case.  Of 
course  the  absolute  relations  of  the  specimens  have  at  present 
no  value  since  the  Cornell  brains  were  hardened  in  alcohol  and 
therefore  had  undergone  some  shrinkage.  It  may,  however, 
be  permissable  to  conclude  that  on  both  sides  the  exposure  of 
the  insula  in  Laura  was  large,  and  that  on  the  left  side  it 
was  much  larger  than  on  the  right. 

Exposure  of  the  insula  may  be  considered  in  gen- 
eral as  characteristic  of  incomplete  development  (Riidin- 
ger35).  According  to  this  test,  then,  there  is  here  a  general 
lack  of  development  which  is  most  marked  on  the  left 
side.  This  exposure  is  due,  however,  only  in  part  to  the 
small  size  of  the  gyrus  frontalis  inferior  which  contains  the 
presumptive  speech  centre,  and  to  which  we  have  hitherto 


ON    THE    BEAIN    OF    LAUEA   BEIDGMAX.  27 

specially  attended.  Kudinger(35_p-45)  describes  for  mutes 
that  have  lost  the  power  of  speech  as  the  result  of  deafness 
and  who  are  otherwise  normal,  certain  slight  abnormalities 
of  the  speech- centres  —  but  seems  surprised  that  they  are  not 
more  marked.  Without  entering  into  any  detail  it  is  evident 
that  the  variations  in  his  cases  and  in  that  of  Laura  are  similar, 
and  Zuckerkand^36)  also  notes  as  defects  in  the  development 
of  the  speech- centre  some  that  we  do  not  find  here,  but  among 
those  that  we  do  find,  he  mentions  the  depression  below  the 
general  surface  of  the  pars  ascendens  and  basilaris,  the 
hiding  of  them  by  surrounding  gyri,  which  thus  form  an 
operculum  at  this  point,  the  exposure  of  the  insula  and  failure 
of  the  tip  of  the  temporal  lobe  to  attain  its  full  size.  Zucker- 
kandl(36)  has  also  something  to  say  with  regard  to  compensa- 
tory development  on  the  assumption  that  such  compensation 
may  be  physiological  as  well  as  morphological.  Whereas 
the  2>ars  ascendens  and  basilaris  ate  less  well  developed 
in  the  left  hemisphere  in  Laura,  if  the  pars  triangularis 
of  the  left  side  is  compared  with  that  of  the  right  it 
is  found  to  be  somewhat  larger.  It  might  be  urged  that 
this  better  development  of  the  pars  triangularis  indicated 
that  it  had  taken  on  some  of  the  functions  of  the  unde- 
veloped portion.  At  the  moment  I  am  aware  of  no  posi- 
tive evidence  in  favor  of  such  a  transfer  of  function  and 
hence  do  not  consider  the  objection  important.  Closely  asso- 
ciated with  this  region  is  the  insula,  but  the  discussion 
of  that  will  be  deferred  until  we  consider  the  cortical  develop- 
ment of  the  brain.  From  what  has  been  said,  then,  I  conclude 
that  the  centre  for  articulate  speech  in  this  case  shows  some 
defect,  which  is  most  naturally  exjnained  as  arrest  of  devel- 
opment. The  nature  of  this  arrest  will  be  brought  up  when 
we  come  to  the  histology  of  the  region. 

Occipital  Region. — We  next  turn  to  the  occipital  region 
which  is  represented  in  Figs.  Ill  and  IV.  The  occipital  lobe, 
and  specially  the  cuneus,  in  man,  appears  to  be  the  cortical 
centre  for  vision, —  but  just  what  the  limits  of  the  occipital 
lobe  are,  and  how  much  of  this  area  is  specialized  as  a  visual 
centre,  are  not  precisely  determined.  Eckers(37)  description 
of  the  occipital  lobe  has  not  been  found  satisfactory  by  later  au- 


28  DONALDSON  : 

thors  and  several  attempts  have  been  made  to  improve  on  his 
account.  Here  I  follow  Eberstaller's  description(3*_No18). 
According  to  him  the  occipital  lobe  is  best  considered  as  that 
portion  of  the  hemisphere  enclosed  between  the  fissura  calca- 
rina  (ra),  the  sulcus parieto-occipitalis  (p.  o.),  the  sulcus  oc- 
cipitalis anterior  (occ.  ant.)  and  the  sulcus  occipitalis  lateralis 
(occ.  lat.).  The  sulcus  occipitalis  anterior  is  the  homologue  of 
the  "ape  fissure"  of  the  authors.  The  gyrus  between  the  mesal 
end  of  the  sulcus  occipitalis  anterior  and  the  sulcus  parieto- 
occipitalis  is  the  gyrus  annectans  superior,  while  that  between 
the  lateral  end  of  the  sulcus  occipitalis  anterior  and  the  sulcus 
occipitalis  lateralis  is  the  gyrus  annectans  inferior.  The 
complete  enclosure  of  the  area  must  be  to  some  extent  arti- 
ficial, but  I  shall  make  it  by  joining  the  several  sulci  with 
one  another  at  the  points  where  they  come  nearest  together, 
using  the  two  ends  of  the  sulcus  occipitalis  anterior  and  the 
caudal  end  of  the  fissura  calcarina  as  points  from  which  to 
start  the  limiting  lines.  Of  the  accessory  sulci  within  this  area 
I  have  at  the  moment  nothing  to  say. 

The  left  hemisphere,  Fig.  Ill,  shows  a  typical  arrangement  of 
the  sulci  bounding  this  lobe.  On  the  right  side  the  arrange- 
ment is  similar,  but  the  sulcus  parieto-occipitalis  does 
not  show  on  the  dorsal  surface  and  hence  there  is  nothing 
to  match  that  sulcus  on  the  left  side.  On  the  right,  also, 
the  whole  occipital  region  is  smaller  as  shown  by  the 
principle  outlines,  and  just  laterad  of  the  most  caudal  end  of 
the  sulcus  occipitalis  anterior  is  a  small  group  of  very  shallow 
sulci  which  appear  hardly  deeper  than  vascular  grooves,  but 
which  section  of  the  region  shows  to  be  true  sulci. 

The  smaller  size  of  the  region  on  the  right  side  and  the 
peculiar  sulci  just  mentioned  are  the  principal  points  which 
suggest  defective  development,  as  the  failure  of  the  sulcus 
parieto-occipitalis  to  appear  on  the  dorsal  surface  is  not  so 
uncommon  in  normal  individuals.  At  the  same  time  the  fact 
that  this  same  sulcus  is  well  developed  on  the  left  side  while 
it  is  poorly  developed  on  the  right  is  suggestive  when  taken 
in  connection  with  the  defects  already  noted.  The  gyri  of  this 
region  are  all  rather  narrow  and  closely  pressed  together,  thus 
rendering  the  intra-lobar  sulci  inconspicuous.      Eberstaller 


ON    THE    BRAIN   OF    LAURA    BRIDGMAN.  29 

(34->-o. 19)  notes  that  the  length  of  the  arc  from  the  occipital 
pole  to  the  point  where  the  sulcus  parieto-occipitalis  cuts  the 
edge  of  the  mantel  is  to  the  entire  arc,  i.  e.,  to  the  trigonum 
olfactorium  (see  p.  23),  as  1  to  6.  Measured  on  the  left  side  in 
Laura  it  is  1  to  6.1,  and  on  the  right  it  is  1  to  6.  This  for  our 
purpose  is  not  so  significant  as  the  arc  between  the  caudal  end 
of  the  fissura  calcarina  and  the  point  where  the  sulcus  par- 
ieto-occipitalis cuts  the  edge  of  the  mantel,  which  is, 

On  the  left  side,  50  mm. 

Ou  the  right  side,  29  mm. 

Showing  the  great  reduction  in  that  measurement  of  the  cu- 
neus  on  the  right  side.  Further,  whereas  the  arc  of  the  pre- 
cuneus and  that  of  the  cuneus  are  about  the  same  length  on 
the  left  side — a  condition  of  things  which  is  normal, — on  the 
right  side  that  of  the  prwcuneus  is  much  longer  than  that  of 
the  cuneus.  These  relations  are  shown  in  Fig.  IY,  where,  as 
can  be  seen,  one  cause  of  the  reduction  in  size  of  the  cuneus 
is  its  apparent  displacement  dorsad  of  the  fissura  calcarina. 
In  the  left  cuneus  I  find  nothing  peculiar  to  describe.  In  the 
right  side  the  sulcus  parieto-occipitalis  may  be  considered  to 
branch  just  below  the  letter  p.  The  ramus  marked  p.o.  runs 
dorsad  towards  the  edge  of  the  mantel,  but  never  reaches  the 
dorsal  surface,  as  the  bounding  gyrus  has  its  concavity  ventrad 
and  its  convexity  dorsad.  The  other  branch,  running  almost 
vertically  in  Fig.  IV,  appears  to  unite  with  the  sulcus  which, 
lying  cephalad  to  the  sulcus  parieto-occipitalis,  represents 
that  described  by  Eberstaller(84_No>  18)  as  a  branch  of  the  inter- 
parietal, and  by  Wilder(38)  as  the  cephalic  stipe  of  his  fissura 
paroccipitalis.  The  union  is  apparent  only,  and  is  caused  by 
the  extension  caudad,  in  the  form  of  an  operculum,  of  the  pre- 
cuneal wall  that  bounds  these  sulci.  On  removing  this  oper- 
culum, the  sulcus  parieto-occipitalis  is  seen  to  be  repre- 
sented by  the  sulcus  marked  p.  o.  alone  and  to  have  under- 
gone something  of  a  bend  with  the  concavity  caudad,  at  the 
point  of  apparent  branching,  but  the  relations  with  the  fissura 
calcarina  are  normal.  The  appearance  here  is  somewhat 
further  complicated  by  a  considerable  development  of  the 
accessory  sulci  on  the  mesal  surface.  So  far  as  we  have  gone, 
therefore,    the    right    cuneus    is    less   well    developed   than 


30  DONALDSON  : 

the  left.  It  will  be  recalled  that  we  also  found  the 
posterior  cornu  of  the  left  side  in  better  condition  than 
on  the  right.  From  these  facts  it  appears  that  the  right 
occipital  lobe  shows  several  anomalies  which  when  all  are 
taken  together  indicate  that  the  arrest  of  development  has 
been  more  marked  on  this  side.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
up  to  her  seventh  year  Laura  was  somewhat  sensitive  to 
light  in  her  right  eye  while  she  was  completely  blind  in  the 
left.  That  sensitiveness  meant  the  preservation  of  a  certain 
portion  of  the  retina  in  the  right  eye  for  some  five  years 
longer  than  in  the  left.  The  conservative  value  for  the  nerve 
centres  of  even  such  weak  stimuli  has  long  been  recognized, 
and  it  is  but  natural  therefore  that  the  occipital  lobe  chiefly 
connected  with  the  right  eye  should  be  better  preserved  than 
the  other  whose  development  was  presumptively  arrested  ear- 
lier and  during  the  years  most  important  for  growth. 

Temporal  Lobe. — This  is  disproportionately  small  and 
alike  on  both  sides.  The  failure  to  develop  appears  to 
affect  most  of  all  the  tip.  In  Laura's  case  I  have  not 
discovered  anything  that  seemed  to  deserve  study  as  an 
anomaly,  so  far  as  the  gross  anatomy  of  this  region 
is  concerned,  and  I  can  present  nothing  on  the  cortical 
centre  for  hearing,  on  the  assumption  that  that  centre  is 
in  or  about  the  first  and  second  temporal  gyri  [Horsley  and 
SchaferC40),  Starr (41)].  It  may  be  that  the  defects  in  the 
sense  of  smell  and  taste  have  left  their  mark  on  the  un- 
cinate gyrus  and  its  neighborhood,  if  Ferrier's(39)  localiza- 
tion is  accepted  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  neither  of 
these  senses  was  entirely  wanting,  although  the  former  was 
very  defective.  I  should  hesitate,  however,  to  adduce  any 
direct  evidence  from  our  case. 

While  searching  for  defects  it  is  only  fair  to  keep  in  mind 
that  the  centres  for  those  senses  and  activities  which  Laura  did 
retain  might  have  undergone  an  unusual  development. 
Nevertheless,  her  finger  dexterity  in  talking  would  not,  I 
should  think,  call  for  unusual  control  from  the  cortex  and  the 
refinement  of  touch  in  her  case  appears  to  have  been  limited 
to  the  hands  and  face.  The  portion  corresponding  to  the 
finger  and  thumb  area   (see   Mills  42~p-230)  is    fairly  devel- 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAUEA  BKIDGMAN.         31 

oped  on  the  left  side  and  not  quite  so  well  on  the  right,  but 
there  is  nothing  in  the  gross  appearance  that  is  remarkable. 
Since  the  interesting  work  of  France(53)  on  the  gyrus  forni- 
cat  us  and  the  association  of  this  with  dermal  sensibility  in 
monkeys,  I  was  led  to  examine  this  region  with  such  care 
as  the  poor  condition  of  this  part  of  the  specimen  would  per- 
mit, but  with  negative  results. 

Measurements  of  Cortical  Areas. 

Every  now  and  then  during  the  present  century  various 
investigators  have  made  the  attempt  to  get  at  the  quan- 
tity of  gray  matter  in  the  cerebral  cortex,  both  in  man 
and  some  of  the  animals.  It  has  thus  far  proved  impos- 
sible to  obtain  a  figure  for  this  portion  of  the  brain  which 
would  have  the  accuracy,  for  example,  of  those  we  pos- 
sess for  its  weight,  but  several  approximations  have  been 
made  which  are  of  some  value.  The  questions  which 
such  an  examination  was  designed  to  answer  have  not  always 
been  briefly  formulated  and  it  will  be  as  well  to  state  at  once 
what  we  expect  from  it  in  this  case.  We  wish  to  know 
whether  those  portions  of  the  cortex,  which  in  Laura  we  sus- 
pect are  defective  and  which  belong  to  one  hemisphere,  will 
prove  to  have  a  less  area,  when  the  two  hemispheres  are  com- 
pared with  one  another.  We  wish  to  know  farther  whether  the 
total  area  of  the  cortex  is,  in  our  case,  less  than  the  total  area 
of  the  cortex  in  a  normal  brain  with  which  that  of  Laura  might 
be  compared.  In  the  statements  just  made  the  term  area  has 
been  alone  used,  but  of  course  if  we  knew  at  the  same  time 
the  average  thickness  of  the  cortex,  then  the  masses  of 
the  cortex  might  as  easily  be  compared  as  the  areas. 
These  measurements  are  for  the  most  part  neglected  in  the 
usual  description  of  specimens,  as  it  takes  some  time  and 
trouble  to  make  them,  and  the  results  are  perhaps  not  pro- 
portionate to  the  expenditure  of  energy  necessary  for  this. 
Nevertheless  when  we  get  them  all  together  there  is  quite  an 
array  of  figures  to  be  found  in  the  literature. 

With  a  view  to  rendering  these  results  intelligible  I  shall 
briefly  present  some  of  the  objects  and  conclusions  of  investi- 
gators in  this  line.     R.  Wagner(31)  made  a  number  of  direct 


32  DONALDSON  : 

measurements  of  the  area  of  the  convex  (as  distinguished 
from  the  mesal)  surface  of  specimens  in  the  famous  Gottingen 
collection,  which  contained  among  others  the  brains  of  Gauss, 
Fuchs  and  Dirichlet.  He  was  followed  by  his  son,  H.  Wag- 
ner^), wno  measured  not  only  the  entire  exposed  surface  but 
also  the  length  and  depth  of  the  sulci,  from  which  the  sunken 
surface,  i.  e.,  the  portion  forming  the  walls  of  the  sulci,  could 
be  calculated,  and  from  these  two  results  the  total  area  of  the 
cortex  was  obtained.  In  carrying  this  task  to  completion  H. 
Wagner  established  several  relations  between  portions  of  the 
cortex  which  subsequent  investigation  has  tended  to  confirm. 
The  main  problems  which  the  Wagners  had  in  mind  were : 
first,  whether  individuals  of  superior  intelligence  had  the 
frontal  lobes  unusually  developed ;  and  second,  whether,  if  the 
individuals  were  arranged  in  series  according  to  intelligence, 
the  figures  for  the  areas  of  the  cortex  of  the  respective  brains 
would  follow  the  same  order.  To  the  first  question  the  answer 
was  negative ;  to  the  second,  apparently  positive.  At  the  same 
time  the  brains  of  the  more  intelligent  individuals  in  their  series 
were  in  general  heavier  i.  e.  larger  than  those  of  the  less 
intelligent  and  their  table  might  as  well  be  interpreted  to 
mean  that  in  general  the  larger  brains  have  the  larger  corti- 
cal areas.  From  the  data  given  by  H.  Wagner(44)  I  form  the 
following  table  to  illustrate  this  last  point : — 


Weight  of  Cerebral 

After  Hardening 

Total  Area  of 

Hemispheres,  Fresh. 

in  Alcohol. 

Coitex. 

Gauss, 

1492  grm. 

957  grm. 

2195S8.  sq.  mm. 

Fuchs, 

1499  grin. 

S95  grm. 

221005.  sq.  mm. 

Frau, 

1185  grm. 

8H4  grm. 

204115.  sq.  mm. 

Krebs, 

1273  grm. 

771  grm. 

187672.  sq.  mm. 

It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  Table  VIII  of  H.  Wagner 
(M)  is  the  one  that  appears  in  the  text  books  where  the  figures 
for  the  area  of  the  cortex  are  given.  The  total  area  in  the 
original  table  is  expressed  as  the  sum  of  the  areas  of  the 
frontal,  parietal,  occipital  and  temporal  lobes.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  it  is  the  sum  of  these  plus  the  area  of  the  insula 
(Stammlappen),  but  the  figures  for  the  insula  have  been 
omitted  in  the  printing  of  the  original  table.  It  thus  happens 
that  the  figures  representing  the  total  area  are  somewhat 
larger  than  the  sum  of  those  for  the  separate  lobes  as  given 


ON   THE   BRAIN   OF   LAURA   BRIDGMAN.  33 

in  the  table.  This  omission  in  the  original  has  been  perpetu- 
ated by  the  text-books,  but  so  far  as  I  know  attention  has  not 
previously  been  directed  to  it. 

Most  directly  in  the  line  of  Wagner's  work  is  that  of  Jen- 
sen (45)  who  measured  the  area  of  the  cortex  on  six  brains  of 
the  insane  with  a  view  to  finding  whether  they  exhibited  any 
peculiarities   in  this   respect.      His   results   were  negative. 

There  are  two  points  in  this  connection  which  I  desire  to 
emphasize.  First,  the  authors  who  have  undertaken  this 
sort  of  work  have  at  the  same  time  realized  that  the  thickness, 
structure  and  nutrition  of  the  cortex  were  factors  entirely  left 
out  of  account,  and  probably  of  the  greatest  importance ;  and 
second,  we  have  thus  far  complete  measurements  only  on 
brains  hardened  in  alcohol  in  which  a  decrease  in  weight  of 
27% — 40%  has  taken  place  and  consequently  no  results  are  at 
hand  to  determine  by  this  method  the  area  of  the  cortex  in  the 
fresh  normal  brain. 

Vogt(46)  in  his  study  of  microcephalics  has  given  the  areas 
of  the  exposed  surface  of  the  brains.  These  measurements, 
however,  were  taken  not  on  the  specimens,  but  on  the  casts  of 
the  cranial  cavity.  Of  the  other  methods  that  of  Baillarger(47) 
is  the  most  direct,  though  not  the  most  satisfactory.  He 
separated  the  cortical  surface  in  the  fresh  specimen  by  dis- 
secting out  the  white  matter  from  the  hemispheres.  This 
made  it  possible  to  unfold  the  cortex  and  thus  get  at  the  area 
by  direct  measurement.  His  figure  for  the  total  cortical  area 
of  the  hemispheres  is  170000  sq.  mm.  which  he  thinks 
may  be  correct  within  1%  for  his  cases.  Besides  these 
there  are  methods  which  may  be  designated  respectively  as 
the  geometrical,  physical  and  chemical.  In  a  certain  sense 
the  measurements  of  the  Wagners  and  Jensen  were  geomet- 
rical as  the  cortical  surface  sunken  in  the  sulci  was  calcu- 
lated from  the  observed  length  and  depth  of  the  sulci. 
CaloriC8)  reduced  the  exposed  surface  of  the  hemispheres  to 
geometrical  forms  and  measured  them  in  that  shape,  using  the 
device  already  described  for  getting  the  area  of  the  sunken  cor- 
tex. Giacomini  is  of  the  opinion  that  Calori's  method  is  less 
exact  than  that  of  the  Wagners  and  Jensen.  The  specimens 
had  been  hardened  in  alcohol.     His  problem  was  the  varia- 

3 


34  DONALDSON  : 

tion  in  the  total  area  according  to  the  shape  of  the  head. 
The  results  which  Calori  has  obtained  from  a  very  large  num- 
ber, 41,  of  Italian  brains,  measured  by  his  method,  are  indi- 
cated by  the  following  average  figures  : 


Male: 

Brachyeephalic, 

243773  sq. 

mm. 

Male: 

Dolicocephalic, 

230212  sq. 

mm. 

Female : 

Brachyeephalic, 

211701  sq. 

mm. 

Female : 

Dolicocephalic, 

198210  sq. 

mm. 

The  physical  method  of  getting  at  similar  results  is  based  on 

the  weight  of  the  entire  brain,  its  specific  gravity  and  the 

specific  gravity  of  the  gray  and  white  matter  that  compose  it. 

This  method  has  been  introduced  by  Danilewsky(49).     The 

result  is  the  percentage  of  gray  and  white  matter  in  a  given 

specimen.     If  now  a  certain  proportion  of  the  gray  matter  is 

assumed  to  belong  to  the  cortex  we  can  obtain  the  mass  of 

the  cortex  and  in  turn  assuming  a  certain  average  thickness 

for  the  same  we  can  calculate  the  area.     Omitting  all  detail, 

Danilewsky(49)  found : 

For  encephalon  weighing  1240  grm.,  total  cortical  surface,  158800  sq.  mm. 
tt  u  u        1324   u        u  h  u        169200   "    " 

As  will  be  seen  these  figures  fall  below  any  that  have  thus 
far  been  given. 

In  the  chemical  method,  so  called,  the  percentage  of  water 
is  determined  instead  of  the  specific  gravity  and  from  data 
thus  obtained  the  mass  or  area  of  the  cortex  can  be  determined. 
More  or  less  complete  data  for  the  percentage  of  water  in  the 
gray  and  white  matter  of  the  brain  have  been  furnished  by 
Bourgoin(50),  Desprez(51)  and  Forster(52).  Giacomini  takes 
the  view  that  of  the  last  two  methods  the  chemical  one  is 
the  more  exact.  At  his  suggestion  DeRegibus(17_p-276),  ex- 
amined several  brains  and  obtained  the  following  figures  for 
the  area  of  the  cortex  : 

1.  Single  hemisphere,  128000  sq.  mm. 

2.  Both  hemispheres,  278940  sq.  mm. 

3.  "  "  245160  sq.  mm. 

4.  "  "  217472  sq.  mm. 

The  original  weights  of  the  brains  are  not  given. 

The  figures  obtained  by  Baillarger(47)  and  by  those  authors 
who  have  used  the  physical  and  chemical  methods  apply  to  the 
fresh  brain,  having  its  normal  size ;  whereas  all  the  other 
figures  apply  to  brains  shrunken  by  alcohol.     At  the  moment 


ON   THE   BRAIN  OF   LAURA   BRIDGMAN.  35 

we  have  no  means  of  making  the  corrections  required,  but  it 
would  be  fair  to  expect  that  measurement  on  the  fresh  brain 
would  show  a  larger  area  than  those  on  alcoholic  brains.  If 
that  is  a  true  inference,  then  it  is  not  a  little  curious  that  of 
these  authors  just  mentioned  only  DeRegibus  presents  fig- 
ures which  are  at  all  comparable  with  those  of  the  "Wagners, 
Jensen  and  Calori,  the  figures  from  the  other  observers  being 
smaller. 

I  pass  now  to  the  measurements  of  our  own  specimen. 
The  questions  to  be  answered  have  already  been  stated  :  1st. 
To  determine  any  differences  between  the  areas  of  special 
regions  in  the  two  hemispheres.  2nd.  The  total  area  of  the 
cortex. 

Method  of  Making  Measurements.  Investigators  have 
covered  the  exposed  surface  of  the  cortex  with  squared 
paper,  tin  foil,  gold-leaf  or  something  of  the  sort,  and  then 
by  computing  the  number  of  these  squares  required  to  cover 
a  given  region  have  calculated  the  area.  In  this  instance  I 
moistened  thin  sheets  of  gelatine  until  they  were  flexible ; 
these  were  then  laid  on  the  surface  and  the  outlines  of  the 
exposed  portions  of  the  gyri  traced  on  them  by  means  of 
India  ink.  The  area  of  a  region  having  thus  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  gelatine  it  was  removed,  a  copy  of  it  taken 
on  tracing  paper  and  numbered.  The  same  area  was  enclosed 
by  a  line  on  the  plaster  cast  and  given  the  same  number, 
thus  each  region  was  recorded.  The  gelatine  sheet  was 
placed  over  a  piece  of  standard  paper  ruled  in  squares  2  mm. 
on  each  side.  Under  a  lens  magnifying  6  diameters  the  num- 
ber of  squares  enclosed  by  the  outline  was  enumerated  and 
reduced  to  millimeters.  The  method  proved  quite  practi- 
cable and  accurate.  In  getting  the  area  from  the  gelatine 
sheet   measurements   were  made  to  square   millimeters. 

The  length  of  the  sulci  was  taken  with  compasses  where  that 
was  permissible,  but  usually  with  a  strip  of  tin  foil  marked  in 
centimeters.  The  fractions  of  a  centimeter  were  taken  with 
compasses  and  read  on  a  millimeter  scale.  The  depth  of  the 
sulci  was  taken  with  a  fine  hard  rubber  probe,  a  trifle  enlarged 
at  the  tip  so  that  it  had  there  a  diameter  of  1.3  mm.  On  this  a 
button  of  pith  which  slipped  easily  served  to  mark  the  dis- 


36  DONALDSON  : 

tance  to  which  the  probe  was  inserted,  and  this  distance  was 
read  off  on  a  millimeter  scale.  The  majority  of  the  sulci  were 
sounded  every  centimeter,  short  ones  at  lesser  intervals. 
The  calculations  of  the  sunken  surface  were  made  on  the 
assumption  that  the  lines  representing  the  length  and  depth 
formed  with  one  another  rectangular  figures.  Jensen' s(45) 
argument  for  considering  these  figures  zonal  segments,  on 
the  convex  surface  at  least,  was  at  the  time  unknown  to  me, 
but  I  think  that  the  error  introduced  by  the  method  used 
has  in  our  case  largely  balanced  out,  since  the  direct  meas- 
urement of  the  depth  of  the  sulci  was  constantly  too  small. 
The  figures  were  not  summed  until  all  the  data  were  col- 
lected and  they  have  not  been  manipulated  in  any  way  save 
as  I  shall  in  a  moment  state.  The  sums  thus  obtained  are  as 
shown  in  Table  I. 

Table  I. 
Total  Surface,  Sunken  and  Exposed.     (Not  corrected.) 

Left.  Right. 

Insula,                                 1760.     sq.  mm.  2026.5  sq.  mm. 

Frontal  lobe,                     27624.5  sq.  mm.  29584.    sq.  mm. 

Occipital  lobe,                     3824.5  sq.  mm.  3604.8  sq.  mm. 

Residual  portions,           51056.7  sq.  mm.  47452.    sq.  mm. 

84265.7  sq-  mm.  82667.3  sq.  mm. 

Absolute  difference  =       1398.4  sq.  mm. 
In  percentage  =  1.8  % 

As  will  be  seen  the  result  shows  the  total  cortical  surface 
nearly  alike  in  both  hemispheres. 

By  ' '  exposed  surface ' '  is  meant  that  portion  which  does  not 
contribute  to  the  walls  of  the  sulci  ;  by  "sunken  surface"  that 
which  does  thus  contribute.  The  portion  of  the  insula  and 
the  operculum  which  would,  under  this  definition,  be  called 
exposed  is  nevertheless  counted  as  part  of  the  sunken  sur- 
face from  its  position,  both  in  the  calculations  for  the  sur- 
face of  the  frontal  lobe  and  for  the  entire  hemisphere.  In 
the  tables  for  the  insula  alone  a  distinction  is  made  between 
the  sunken  surface,  as  defined,  and  the  other  portion,  which 
to  avoid  ambiguity  is  there  called  " convex  surface."  The 
total  figure  for  the  sunken  surface  of  the  frontal  lobe  or 
a  hemisphere  contains,  then,  the  not-sunken  or  convex  sur- 
face of  the  insida  and  also  the  operculum  which,  by  the  way, 


ON   THE   BRAIN   OF   LAURA   BRIDGMAN.  37 

showed  no  sulci  so  far  as  it  was  in  contact  with  the  insula. 
As  neither  of  these  contribute  to  form  the  walls  of  sulci  they 
are  subtracted  from  the  total  ' '  sunken  surface ' '  before  the 
average  depth  of  the  sulci  is  calculated.  Further,  in  get- 
ting the  average  depth  of  the  sulci,  proper  correction  is  made 
for  those  instances  where  the  sulcus  had  been  considered 
to  have  but  one  wall,  as  in  the  case  of  the  callosal  and  the 
cephalic  portions  of  the  Sylvian  fissures. 

The  Sylvian  fissure  is  considered  to  start  at  the  lateral  end 
of  the  vallecula  Sylvii.  The  limitation  of  the  insula  is  by  the 
sulcus  circularis  (Schwalbe).  The  frontal  lobe  is  limited  by 
the  fissura  Sylvii,  the  fissura  centralis,  and  the  fissura  sub- 
frontalis  (Eberstaller).  The  limitations  of  the  occipital  lobe 
have  been  previously  described  as  formed  by  the  sulcus 
parieto -occipitalis,  fissura  calcarina,  sulcus  occipitalis  later- 
alis, and  sulcus  occipitalis  anterior. 

Finally  with  regard  to  the  corrections  in  the  figures  ob- 
tained by  direct  measurement.  Such  correction  has  been 
made  for  the  depth  of  the  sulci  only.  This  affects  in  the 
results,  of  course,  the  average  depth  of  the  sulci,  the  area  of 
the  sunken  surface  and  the  total  area.  The  correction  has 
been  made  by  adding  25%  to  the  observed  depth  of  the  sulci, 
that  is,  the  observed  depths  were  considered  to  represent 
75%  of  their  real  value,  and  were  increased  so  as  to  represent 
100#. 

A  word  of  explanation  is  here  needed.  The  facilities  for 
getting  the  true  depth  of  the  sulci  in  a  brain  hardened  in 
potassium  bichromate  are  much  less  than  in  the  case  where 
the  hardening  has  been  effected  by  alcohol.  Sulci  in  our  case 
could  not  be  opened  up  without  fear  of  injury  to  the  speci- 
men and  the  resistance  by  which  one  inferred  that  the  bottom 
of  the  sulcus  had  been  reached  was  often  caused  by  the 
approximation  of  the  walls  at  some  distance  above  the  bottom. 
This  error  was  neglected,  however,  until  the  measurements  were 
complete,  on  the  assumption  that  it  would  be  the  same  for  both 
sides.  The  figures  obtained,  Table  I,  justified  this  assumption 
and  what  we  have  to  say  concerning  the  relative  development 
of  the  hemispheres  and  their  sub-divisions  can  be  equally  as 
well  based  on  the  original  as  on  the  corrected  figures  ;  but  when 


38  DONALDSON  : 

we  desire  to  compare  the  total  area  in  our  case  with  that 
found  by  other  investigators  as  well  as  the  relations  of  the 
exposed  and  sunken  surface,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  use 
the  corrected  figures.  The  correction  was  obtained  by  meas- 
uring sulci  in  sections  of  the  hemispheres  and  noting  the 
difference  between  the  true  depth  and  the  depth  as  obtained 
by  the  probe.  This  difference  approximated  on  an  average 
25%,  being  a  trifle  over  that  figure.  It  is  with  regret  that  I 
introduce  this  modification  of  the  results,  but  certain  it  is  that 
without  the  correction  the  absolute  figures  would  have  fallen 
far  below  the  truth.  One  point  more ;  we  are  dealing  here 
with  a  brain  that  has  swollen  in  hardening.  What  the  total 
amount  of  variation  in  the  area  of  surface  thus  produced  is, 
I  cannot  say,  but  I  see  no  reason  to  think  that  the  relations 
of  regions  at  the  surface  of  the  brain  have  been  altered.  The 
portions  which  did  not  harden  and  therefore  did  not  swell 
were  the  ental  ones,  but  the  cortex  throughout  was  exposed  to 
the  action  of  the  fluid  in  much  the  same  way  and  does  not, 
I  believe,  show  any  distortion  that  is  due  to  irregularities 
in  the  preservation. 

Insula. 

I  may  be  permitted  to  state  here  that  the  descriptions  of  the 
various  regions  were  written  before  the  following  figures  re- 
lating to  them  had  been  tabulated,  and  that  in  comparing  the 
figures  with  the  previous  description  I  am  comparing  inde- 
pendent observations. 

Defective  development  of  the  centre  for  articulate  speech 
in  the  left  hemisphere  has  been  already  described.  When 
defective  development  occurs  here  the  insula  is  often 
reported  as  sharing  in  the  defect.  The  following,  Table  II, 
shows  the  relations  for  the  insula.  This  table,  as  well  as  all 
those  that  follow,  is  corrected  in  the  manner  above  mentioned. 


Table  II. 

Insula. 

(Corrected.) 

Left. 

Right. 

Greatest  length, 
Greatest  width, 
Convex  surface, 
Sunken  surface, 
Total  length  of  sulci, 
Average  depth  of  sulci, 

55.   mm. 

30.  mm. 

14S8.   sq.  mm. 

363.   sq.  mm. 

88.   mm. 

2.0mm. 

66.     mm. 

33.     mm. 

1625.5  sq-  mm. 

548.    sq.  mm 

83.     mm. 

3.3  mm. 

ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         39 

It  appears  from  this  that  the  left  insula  is  less  well  developed 
than  the  right  in  every  way  except  the  length  of  the  sulci,  in 
which  it  is  slightly  superior. 

Frontal  Lobe. 

Next  in  order  we  take  the  frontal  lobe  as  above  defined. 

The  frontal  lobe  is  bounded  by  sulci,  and  these  stand  in  the 
table  as  limiting  sulci.  One  half  the  sunken  surface  which  lines 
these  sulci  is  designated  as  the  limiting  sunken  surface  ;  the 
other  half  of  course  belongs  to  the  lobes  bounding  the 
frontal  lobe.  The  area  bounded  by  these  limiting  sulci  is  the 
included  area.  In  this  case  our  interest  is  in  the  included 
area. 

Table  III. 

Frontal  Lobe.     (Corrected.) 

Left.  Right. 

Total  exposed  surface,                11320.    sq.  mm.  12326.    sq.  nim. 

Limiting  sunken  surface,            5920.4  sq-  mm.  5020.2  sq.  mm. 

Included  sunken  surface,           15818.4  sq.  mm.  17994.    sq.  mm. 

Length  of  limiting  sulci,               449.    nam.  411.    mm. 

Length  of  included  sulci,             1051.    mm.  1117.    mm. 

Average  depth  of  limiting  sulci,    13.0  mm.  12.1  mm. 

Average  depth  of  included  sulci,     7.4  mm.  8.    mm. 

Considering  the  included  area  and  the  figures  relating  to 
it,  we  find  the  left  lobe  inferior  to  the  right  in  every  point ;  to 
this  inferiority  the  suspected  gyrus  frontalis  inferior  is 
assumed  to  contribute  largely.  It  would  seem  simpler  to  com- 
pare measurements  of  this  gyrus  on  both  sides,  but  the 
difficulty  of  bounding  it  cephalo-ventrally  has  deterred  me 
from  trying  to  make  the  comparison.  The  deficiency  in  the 
figures  relating  to  the  limiting  portions  on  the  right  side  is 
in  part  due  to  the  less  elaborate  development  of  the  Jissura 
subfrontalis  (Eberstaller) — the  sulcus  calloso-marginalis  of 
Ecker. 

Occipital  Lobe. 

In  the  earlier  description  it  was  brought  out  that  the  right 
occipital  lobe  and  especially  the  right  cuneus  were  poorly  de- 
veloped.    Table  IV  shows  the  results  of  measurements. 


Left. 

1660.5  sq.  mm. 

6U8.     sq.  mm. 
1957.2  sq.  mm. 

928.     sq.  mm. 

Right. 

1302.    sq.  mm. 

412.    sq.  mm. 

1847.7  sq.  mm. 

1356.    sq.  mm. 

133.    mm. 

108.  mm. 
,  14.6  mm. 
i,     4.2  mm. 

137.    mm. 

116.    mm. 

13.4  mm. 

5;7  mm. 

40  DONALDSON  : 

Table  IV. 
Occipital  Lobe.     (Corrected.) 

Total  exposed  surface, 
Exposed  surface  of  cuneus, 
Limiting  sunken  surface, 
Included  sunken  surface, 

Length  of  limiting  sulci, 
Length  of  included  sulci, 
Average  depth  of  limiting  s 
Average  depth  of  included  sulci, 

Here  again  the  measurements  support  to  some  extent  the 

previous  observations.     The  total  exposed  surface,  and  the 

exposed  surface  of  the  cuneus  are  both  less  on  the  right  side. 

But  when  we  come  to  compare  the  included  sunken  surfaces 

on  the  two  sides  the  right  is  superior,  and  if  we  sum  the 

total  exposed  and  sunken  surface  for  the  two  sides  we  find  it : 

On  Left  Side.  On  Right  Side. 

2588.5  sq.  mm.    2658.  sq.  mm. 

That  is,  it  results  to  the  advantage  of  the  right  side.     The 

disturbance  then  which  caused  the  peculiarities  of  the  right 

lobe  did  not  materially  alter  the  cortical  development  on  the 

two  sides.     This  would,  for  one  thing  lead  us  to  regard  the 

cuneus  where  the  difference  between  the  two  sides  is  striking 

with  especial  care.     As  the  table  shows,  the  exposed  surface 

of  the  cuneus  on  the  left  side  is  the  greater.     If  we  add  to 

each   exposed  surface    the   sunken    surface  for  this   special 

region,  i.  e.,  cuneus,  we  get  the  following  : 

Left.  Right. 

Exposed  surface,  cuneus,  603  sq.  mm.        412  sq.  mm. 

Sunken  surface,  cuneus,  376  sq.  mm.       428  sq.  mm. 

Total  surface,  cuneus,  984  sq.  mm.        840  sq.  mm. 

This  indicates  the  total  cuneal  surface  as  smaller  for  the 
more  irregular  right  side,  which  is  what  we  might  expect  if  the 
visual  centre  is  here  located.  For  the  rest  of  the  occipital 
lobe  there  appears  to  have  been  that  compensatory  growth  by 
which  the  portions  about  the  cuneus  developed  more  gener- 
ously as  the  cuneus,  itself  somewhat  arrested,  offered  less 
resistance  to  their  expansion. 

Rtsidual  Portion. 

What  remains  after  the  insula,  frontal  and  occipital  lobes 
have  been  considered,  I  call  the  ''residual  portion."     In  itself 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN. 


41 


it  has  no  special  interest  for  us  at  the  moment 
are  given  in  Table  V. 

Table  V. 

Residual  Portion.     (Corrected. ) 

Left. 
18842.    sq.  mm, 
7877.6  sq.  mm 
35074.9  sq.  mm 


The  figures 


Total  exposed  surface, 
Limiting  sunken  surface, 
Included  sunken  surface, 


Right. 

19037.2  sq. 

6867.9 
31022. 


sq. 
sq. 


mm. 
mm. 
mm. 


Length  of  limiting  sulci,  582.     nam.  548.     mm. 

Length  of  included  sulci,  1619.     mm.  1613.     mm. 

Average  depth  of  limiting  sulci,  13.3  mm.  12.4  mm. 

Average  depth  of  included  sulci,  10.8  mm.  10.     mm. 

Having  thus  presented  the  data  for  all  portions  of  the  hemi- 
spheres it  remains  to  cast  them  in  the  form  of  tables  so  that, 
as  far  as  possible,  they  may  be  compared  with  the  results  of 
others,  and  we  may  thus  determine  something  of  the  relative 
cortical  development  in  this  case.  Table  VI  gives  the  total 
exposed  surface  according  to  the  limitations  previously  stated. 

Table  VI. 
Total  Exposed  Surface. 

Left.  Right. 

Insula,  

Frontal  lobe,                  11320.     sq.  mm.  12326.    sq.  mm. 

Occipital  lobe,                 1660.5  sq.  mm.  1302.    sq.  mm. 

Residual  portion,           18842.     sq.  mm.  19037.2  sq.  mm. 


Total, 

Absolute  difference, 

Percentage  difference, 


31822.5  sq.  mm. 


32665.2  sq.  mm. 
842.7  sq.  mm. 
2.6  % 


Table  VII  gives  in  the  same  way  the  total  sunken  surface. 

Table   VII. 
Total  Sunkeii  Surface.     (Corrected.) 


*  Insula, 
Frontal  lobe, 
Occipital  lobe, 
Residual  portion, 


Left. 

1851.0  sq. 

21738.8  sq. 

2885.2  sq. 

42952.5  sq. 


mm. 
mm. 
mm. 
mm. 


Right. 

2173.5  sq.  mm. 

23014.2  sq.  mm. 

3203.7  sq.  mm. 

37889.9  sq.  mm. 


69427.5  sq.  mm. 
Absolute  difference,  3246.2  sq.  mm. 
Percentage  difference,  4.9  % 


66181.3  sq.  mm. 


*  It  will  be  recalled  that  for  our  purpose  the  insula  is  not  considered  to 
have  an  exposed  surface. 


42  DONALDSON  : 

Table  VIII. 
Total  Surface,  Sunken  and  Exposed.     (Corrected.) 

Left.  Right. 
Insula,                                 1851.0  sq.  mm.  2173.5  sq.  rum- 
Frontal  lobe,                    33058.0  sq.  mm.  35340.2  sq.  mm. 
Occipital  lobe,                   4551.7  sq-  mm.  4505.7  sq.  mm. 
Kesidual  portion,             61794.5  sq.  mm.  56927.1  sq.  mm. 

Total,  101256.0  sq.  mm.  98946.5  sq.  mm. 

Absolute  difference,  2309.5  sq.  mm. 

Percentage  difference,  2.3  % 

This  Table  VIII  gives  the  total  figures  which  I  consider 
final  for  this  specimen.  To  prevent  any  possible  misunder- 
standing I  may  state  again  that  Table  I,  which  gives  the  origi- 
nal figures  before  they  were  corrected,  is  presented  to  show 
on  what  basis  the  corrections  were  to  be  made.  And  though 
it  is  possible  that  the  two  tables  may  be  confused,  I  hope  by 
this  explicit  statement  to  prevent  such  a  complication,  and 
make  it  plain  that  Table  VIII  only  is  the  one  to  be  used  in 
comparison  with  the  figures  obtained  by  other  authors. 

In  connection  with  Table  VIII,  I  have  to  call  attention  to 
the  figures  for  the  total  surface  of  the  insula  and  frontal  lobes 
of  the  left  side  which  still  remain  smaller,  whereas  the  occi- 
pital lobe  is  slightly  larger  on  the  left  side.  On  the  whole 
the  area  of  the  left  hemisphere  is  greater,  and  I  associate  that 
with  the  fuller  development  of  the  caudal  portions  of  this 
hemisphere.     (See  Fig.  III.) 

The  length  of  sulci  is  shown  in  Table  IX,  and  as  will  be 
seen  the  left  hemisphere  is  a  trifle  inferior  in  this  measure- 
ment. The  limiting  sulci  are  of  course  counted  but  once,  so 
that  if  their  length  is  given  for  the  frontal  and  occipital  lobes 
then  the  residual  portion  is  to  be  credited  with  the  included 
sulci  only. 

Table  IX. 
Total  Length  of  Sulci. 

Insula, 

Frontal  lobe,  limiting  sulci, 
Frontal  lobe,  included  sulci. 
Occipital  lobe,  limiting  sulci, 
Occipital  lobe,  included  sulci, 
Residual  portion,  included  sulci, 


Left. 

Right. 

88  mm. 

S3  mm. 

449  mm. 

411  mm. 

1051  mm. 

1117  mm. 

133  mm. 

137  mm. 

108  mm. 

116  mm. 

1619  mm. 

1613  mm. 

3448  mm. 

3477  mm. 

ON   THE   BRAIN   OF   LAURA   BRLDGMAN.  43 

Table  X  exhibits  the  average  depth  of  the  sulci  for  each 
hemisphere.  The  average  depth  of  the  sulci  is  obtained  in 
the  following  manner :  From  the  total  sunken  surface  as  pre- 
viously given,  the  areas  of  the  operculum  and  convex  surface 
of  the  insula  are  subtracted.  The  areas  for  the  sulcus  callosi 
and  the  portion  of  the  gyrus  frontalis  inferior  which  forms  the 
dorsal  wall  of  the  fissura  Sylvii,  which  have  not  been  doubled 
in  estimating  the  sunken  surface,  are  added  to  this  remainder. 
The  sum  is  then  divided  by  two,  thus  giving  the  area  of  one 
side  of  all  the  sulci.  This  divided  by  the  total  length  of  sulci 
gives  the  average  depth.  This  process  is  carried  out  in 
Table  X. 

Table  X. 

Average  Depth  of  Sulci.     (Corrected.) 

Left.  Rioht. 

Total  sunken  surface,  69427,5  sq.  mm.  66181.3  sq.  mm. 

Less  sum  of  opercular  and  \         0 _,-«  o  QfifiQ 

convex  insular  surfaces,   / 2obo. 

67001.5  sq.  mm.  63518.3  sq.  mm. 

Plus  callosal  wall  1037.0  sq.  mm.  1037.0  sq.  mm. 

Plus  dorsal  wall  fiss.  Syl.  827.0  sq.  mm.  400.0  sq.  mm. 

One-half  of  this  total  68865.5  sq.  mm.  64955.3  sq.  mm. 

equals  34432,7  sq.  mm.  32477.6  sq.  mm. 

Dividing  this  last  figure  by  3448.  3477. 

Gives  average  depth  of  Sulci  9.9  mm.  9.3  mm. 

The  table  explains  itself  I  think  without  further  comment, 
except  the  difference  between  the  figures  for  the  dorsal  wall  of 
the  fissura  Sylvii  on  the  two  sides,  which  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  method  of  measurement  was  not  the  same  in  both 
cases. 

Before  we  make  comparison  of  those  figures  which  apply 
to  the  entire  hemispheres,  several  other  numerical  relations 
may  be  noted.  The  surface  of  the  frontal  lobe  in  per  cent,  of 
the  total  surface  is  found  to  be  : 

Total  surface, 

Frontal  lobe,  total  surface,* 

"We  may  also  express  the  relations  of  the  exposed  and  sunken 
surface  in  the  two  hemispheres : 

♦Our  limits  of  the  frontal  lobe  enclose  a  smaller  region  than  those  of 
the  other  authors  who  have  given  figures. 


Left. 

Right. 

1C0 

100 

32.5 

35.8 

44  DONALDSON  : 

Left.  Right. 

If  total  exposed  surface      =  1.  1. 

Then  total  sunken  surface  =  2.18  2.02 

This  relation  of  the  exposed  to  the  sunken  surface  is  that 
which  has  been  found  by  others,  namely,  the  sunken  surface 
is  on  the  average  very  slightly  more  than  twice  the  exposed 
surface. 

Finally  H.  Wagner(**)  devised  a  formula  by  which  the  ex- 
posed surface  of  the  brain  could  be  calculated  from  its  several 
diameters.  Applying  this  formula  to  our  specimen  we  find  by 
calculation  a  figure  which  is  some  25%  larger  than  that 
obtained  by  observation.  Evidently  the  swelling  of  the  brain 
and  the  consequent  gaping  of  the  sulci  renders  this  formula 
inapplicable  in  our  case. 

It  remains  now  to  determine  what  peculiarities  these  fig- 
ures obtained  from  our  specimen  show  when  compared  with 
the  figures  from  other  authors,  always  keeping  in  mind  that 
the  latter  figures  used  for  comparison  were  obtained  from 
shrunken  specimens,  whereas  ours  is  swollen.  We  shall  use 
for  comparison  the  data  furnished  by  H.  Wagner(44),  Jen- 
sen(45)  and  Calori(48).  From  the  first  the  figures  for  the 
"woman"  are  used.  From  the  second  those  for  "Bockel," 
female,  insane,  and  from  the  last  those  for  brachycephalic 
females,  three  in  number. 

Table  XI. 
Total  Surface. 

Weight  of  Fresh  Left.  Right.  Sum. 

Encephalon. 

1204  grm.  Laura,        101256.  sq.  mm.  98946.5  sq.  mm.  200202.5  sq.  mm. 

*1304grm.  Woman,     102742.  sq.  mm.  102373.    sq.  mm.  205115.0  sq.  mm. 
1065  grm.  Rockel  (female, 

insane),     74615.  sq.  mm.  74523.    sq.  mm.  149138.0  sq.  mm. 

1236  grm.  )  Bhhl.  245260.    sq.  mm. 

1151  grm.              feSshaIlC  195684.    sq.  mm. 

1056  grm.  J         remaies.  194160.    sq.  mm. 

The  total  figure  for  Laura,  though  her  brain  is  swollen,  is 
somewhat  under  that  found  by  Wagner,  and  also  under  the 
average  taken  from  the  two  brains  of  Calori  with  which 
it  may  be  fairly  compared,  but  above  that  of  Jensen.     The 

*  Figures  for  area  corrected  from  H.  Wagner's  (44)  table.  As 
1  understand  Wagner,  the  fresh  weight  of  this  brain,  which  he  gives 
as  1185  grm.,  applies  to  the  hemispheres  alone.  1304  is  the  estimated 
weight  of  the  entire  encephalon  to  which  these  hemispheres  belonged. 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         45 

small  brain  weight  and  the  mental  condition  of  the  patient 
in  Jensen's  case  must  however  be  considered.  I  see  here 
no  greater  variation  than  occurs  in  the  full  tables  of  these 
authors.  We  may  conclude  therefore  that  the  total  area  of 
Laura's  brain,  if  at  all  peculiar,  was  small  for  its  weight. 
Comparison  for  total  length  of  sulci  and  their  average  depth 
can  be  made  only  with  the  first  two,  as  Calori  does  not  give: 
his  figures  on  this  point. 

Table  XII. 
Total  Length  of  Sulci  and  Average  Depth. 

Name.  Left.  Right.  Sum. 

Length.  Av.  Depth.  Length.  Av.  Depth.  Length.  Av.  Depth. 
Laura,  3448.  mm.  9.9  mm.  3477.  mm.  9.1  mm.  6625.  mm.  9.5  mm. 
Woman,  3349- mm.  9.88  mm.  3189!  mm.  10-48  mm.  6538.  mm.  10.14  mm. 
Rockel,    2870- mm. 2834.  mm. 5704.  mm.     9.08  mm. 

It  appears  that,  whereas  the  length  of  the  sulci  is  greater  in 
Laura  than  in  those  with  whom  she  is  compared,  the  average 
depth  in  less  than  that  of  the  woman  and  more  than  that  of 
Eockel.  At  the  same  time  both  length  and  depth  are  well 
within  the  limits  found  by  these  authors  for  other  brains. 

The  relative  development  of  the  frontal  lobe  is  something 
to  which  a  certain  historical  value,  at  least,  attaches.  The 
frontal  lobe  as  we  define  it  is  somewhat  smaller  than  that  of 
Wagner  and  Jensen  as  they  include  that  portion  of  the  gyrus 
fomicatus  which  extends  caudad  as  far  as  the  prcecuneus. 
If  we  include  this  region  so  as  to  make  our  results  compar- 
able with  theirs  we  have  the  figures  given  in  the  next  table. 

Table  XIII. 

Relative  Development  of  Frontal  Lobe,  given  in  Percentage  of 

the  Total  Surface. 

Left.  Eight.  Average  for  Both 

Hemispheres. 

Laura,  36.8  39,9  38.3 

Woman,  40.  41.  41. 

Eockel,  3S.3  40-9  39.6 

When  the  comparison  is  made  in  this  way  Laura  is  seen 
to  be  slightly  inferior  to  the  other  two.  An  examination  of 
the  tables  shows  this  to  depend  mainly  on  the  smaller  aver- 
age depth  of  the  sulci.  The  inferiority  of  the  left  side  is 
manifested  here  again.  In  general  then  we  may  say  that 
so  far  as  these  measurements  are  concerned,  Laura's  brain 
differs  from  other  brains  with  which  it  may  be  compared  to 


46  DONALDSON  : 

no  remarkable  degree,  and  the  difference  can  in  part  at  least, 
be  explained  by  the  failure  of  certain  portions  of  the  brain 
to  develop  completely.  The  determination  of  the  mass 
of  the  cortex  must  await  the  measurement  of  its  thickness, 
and  that  together  with  other  observations  is  reserved  for  a 
second  article. 


ANATOMICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  BRAIN  AND 

SEVERAL  SENSE-ORGANS  OF  THE  BLIND 

DEAF-MUTE, 

LAURA  DEWEY  BRIDGMAN. 


Henry  H.  Donaldson,  Ph.  D. 


II. 

I. —  On  the  thickness  and  structure  of  the  cerebral  cortex. 
Plates  III  and  IV. 

In  a  previous  paper  (Am.  Journ.  of  Psychology,  Vol. 
Ill,  No.  3,  Sept.,  1890.)  I  have  described  some  of  the  macro- 
scopic features  of  the  brain  in  question.  I  there  stated  the 
results  of  the  measurements  of  the  extent  of  the  cortex  (loc. 
cit.  p.  336)  as  follows  : 

Extent  of  cortex,  right  hemisphere  =    98946.5  □  mm. 

Extent  of  cortex,  left  hemisphere  =  101256.0  Q  mm. 

Total  extent  of  cortex  =  200202.5  n  mm. 

It  has  been  recognized  by  all  those  who  have  studied  the 
extent  of  the  the  cortex,  that  unless  supplemented  by  ob- 
servations on  the  thickness  and  character  of  the  same,  the 
figures  for  extent  did  not  give  a  good  ground  for  further  infer- 
ence. Jensen(45)  is,  however,  the  only  investigator  who  has 
up  to  this  time  made  his  studies  thus  complete. 

It  is,  therefore,  my  purpose  to  report  the  results  of  the  ex- 
amination of  the  cortex  of  Laura  Bridgman  together  with  such 
conclusions  as  may  be  drawn  from  the  results. 

I. — The  thickness  of  the  cerebral  cortex  in  general. 

By  way  of  preface  I  made  a  little  excursion  into  the 
literature  of  the  cortex  to  determine  what  was  considered  to 
be  the  normal  thickness  of  that  layer.  It  is  highly  probable 
that  some  of  the  work  on  this  subject  has  escaped  my  notice, 
but  what  was  found  is  tabulated  (Table  I.)  with  the  purpose 
of  showing  how  fully  the  various  authors  have  stated  the 
manner  in  which  they  obtained  their  results  and  what  correc- 
tions had  to  be  made,  in  certain  cases,  in  order  to  have  the 
results  fairly  comparable. 


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ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         49 

The  authorities  are  arranged  in  chronological  order,  and  in 
two  groups  :  the  first  group  containing  the  figures  which  ap- 
ply to  the  cortex  of  normal  persons,  and  the  second  the  fig- 
ures that  apply  to  defectives.  In  this  latter  group  I  have 
only  the  measurements  that  apply  to  individuals  with  an  ac- 
quired defect,  as  contrasted  with  those  congenitally  defective. 
The  literature  bearing  on  the  cortex  in  these  last  has  been 
brought  together  by  Marchand(66),  and,  though  the  facts  are 
very  interesting,  they  do  not  bear  on  our  present  problem  and 
are  therefore  excluded. 

The  headings  of  the  columns  in  Table  I.  will  explain  them- 
selves, I  trust,  and  the  Table  may  be  examined  now  without 
further  explanation. 

Omitting  my  own  results,  there  are  but  six  authors  whose 
figures  are  of  interest  to  us  now.  The  manner  in  which  the 
final  figures  in  these  cases  have  been  obtained  requires  some 
explanation. 

We  desire  to  know  the  thickness  of  the  cortex  in  its 
natural  state,  but  the  hardening  reagents  used  for  preserving 
the  brain  alter  the  thickness.  In  another  place,  I  expect  to 
make  some  general  statements  with  regard  to  the  weight  and 
volume  of  nervous  tissues  as  influenced  by  hardening  rea- 
gents. Therefore  I  may  state  here  only  the  results  obtained, 
viz.,  that  alcohol  of  80%  causes  a  decrease  of  2%  in  the 
thickness  of  the  cortex,  while  the  bichromate  and  alcohol 
treatment  (potassium  bichromate  2i%  plus  }  its  volume  of 
95%  alcohol  for  6  to  8  weeks  ;  washing  in  water  for  24  hours ; 
alcohol  95%  for  2  days,  and  final  preservation  in  80% 
alcohol)  causes  an  increase  of  2%.  As  will  be  seen  these 
corrections  have  been  applied  in  Table  I.  Further,  the  man- 
ner of  making  the  measurements  has  a  very  decided  influence 
on  the  results.  Direct  experiment  showed  that  the  same 
localities  measured  with  the  compasses  gave  a  thickness  4% 
less  than  when  measured  with  a  micrometer  eye-piece  under 
the  microscope.  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  the 
microscopic  method  is  the  more  accurate,  hence  I  have  cor- 
rected all  the  measurements  made  with  compasses  by  the 
percentage  above  found. 

There  still  remains  the  important  question  of  the  handling 


50  DONALDSON  : 

of  the  figures  for  thickness  after  they  are  obtained.  In  gen- 
eral, the  summit  of  a  gyrus  has  the  thickest  cortex  and  the 
very  bottom  of  the  sulcus,  the  thinnest.  In  getting  the  thick- 
ness for  any  locality  on  the  hemispheres  at  least  two  measure- 
ments, a  maximum  and  minimum,  are  taken.  Most  investi- 
gators have  measured  the  gyri  at  the  points  where 
the  very  thickest  and  very  thinnest  cortex  was  to  be 
found,  and  for  an  average  taken  half  the  sum  of  these 
figures.  The  thinning  of  the  cortex  at  the  bottom  of 
the  sulci  is,  so  to  speak,  sudden  and  excessive  and  the 
thinnest  point  deviates  more  from  the  intermediate  cortex  than 
does  the  thickest.  Such  being  the  case  the  resultant  figure  is 
somewhat  too  small.  Conti(s9),  Franceschi(61)  and  Cionini(65) 
give  full  tables  and  they  have  measured  in  the  manner  above 
described  so  that  their  averages  represent  one-half  of  the  sum 
of  the  thickest  and  thinnest  points  in  each  gyrus.  In  the 
brains  which  I  have  examined  the  thickest  portion  was  meas- 
ured at  the  summit  of  the  gyrus.  The  observations  for  the 
thinnest  was  taken  at  the  side,  about  two-thirds  of  the  dis- 
tance from  summit  to  sulcus.  In  making  the  average  advan- 
tage was  taken  of  the  observation  that  one-third  of  the  cortex 
lies  at  the  summits  of  gyri  and  two-thirds  is  sunken  in  the 
sulci.  The  smaller  figure  was  multiplied  by  2,  added  to  the 
larger  figure  and  the  sum  divided  by  3.  As  a  consequence 
of  this  treatment  I  believe  that  my  final  average  for  the  cor- 
tex of  any  particular  gyrus  is  nearer  the  truth  than  it  would 
be  if  half  the  sum  of  the  thickest  and  thinnest  points  had 
alone  been  taken. 

The  figures  which  will  be  most  useful  to  us  can  now  be 
taken  from  Table  I  and  presented  in  Table  II,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  showing  whether  there  is  any  difference  in  cortical 
thickness  between  males  and  females,  or  between  the  two 
hemispheres  of  the  same  brain  ;  whether  defectives  corres- 
pond with  normal  persons  ;  and  what  may  be  regarded  as  the 
normal  thickness  of  the  cortex. 

Since  the  figures  given  in  the  Table  II  do  not  occur  in  their 
present  form  in  the  original  tables  of  the  authorities  there 
quoted,  I  should  perhaps  add  a  word  of  explanation  on  the 
method  by  which  they  have  been  obtained. 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         51 

Jensen  (*)  gives  a  condensed  statement  for  the  normal 
"brains,  and  in  Table  II  his  figures  are  simply  corrected  for 
the  effect  of  alcohol  and  the  use  of  compasses  in  measuring. 
His  tables  for  the  defectives  are  fuller  and  permit  us  to  deter- 
mine the  averages  for  the  two  hemispheres.  These  are  cor- 
rected in  the  manner  above  mentioned.  In  no  case  did  he 
measure  the  cortex  of  the  insula.  Among  the  defectives  one 
case  which  he  gives  is  not  entered  in  the  table  because  it  is 
that  of  a  microcephalic. 

Bucknill  and  Tuke(5T)  give,  without  detail,  the  thickness  of 
the  normal  cortex  as  .08  in.  In  a  table  of  63  pathological 
cases  entered  with  great  care  and  fullness,  one  column  is 
devoted  to  the  thickness  of  the  cortex  —  also  given  without 
detail  —  in  hundredths  of  an  inch.  This  unit,  approximately 
equal  to  .25  mm.,  is  rather  large  when  employed  in  so  deli- 
cate a  measurement.  No  statement  as  to  the  number,  locality 
or  method  of  their  measurements  is  made.  The  cases  were 
all  adults. 

Conti(59)  gives  full  tables.  He  claims  twenty  brains  in  his 
series.  The  measurements  on  two  brains  —  females  —  are, 
however,  so  incomplete  that  they  are  not  used  here,  hence  he 
is  credited  with  but  eighteen  brains  in  the  table.  Both  hemi- 
spheres were  not  always  examined.  The  total  number  of 
hemispheres  represented  in  the  table  is  only  twenty-nine,  16 
right  and  13  left.  His  cases,  principally  adults,  range  in  age 
from  sixteen  months  to  eighty  years,  but  there  is  no  evidence 
that  the  youngest  cases  should  be  excluded.  Twenty- six  lo- 
calities in  each  hemisphere  were  measured  but  the  cortex  for 
the  insula,  if  measured,  is  not  specially  recorded.  In  the  pre- 
rolandic  and  post-rolandic  regions  only  the  summits  of  the 
gyri  and  the  depths  of  the  sulci  were  measured.  In  the  ro- 
landic  region  intermediate  measurements  on  each  wall  of  the 
gyri  were  taken.  The  averages  were  obtained  by  summing 
and  dividing  the  figures  as  they  stand  in  his  tables  and  then 
correcting  the  final  results  for  the  use  of  compasses.  The 
original  measurements  were  made  in  tenths  of  a  millimeter. 

Franceschi(61)  gives  full  and  very  complete  tables.  He  ex- 
amined the  cortex  at  35  localities  on  both  hemispheres  of 
twenty  brains,   principally  from  adults  of  advanced  age,  10 


52  DONALDSON  : 

males  and  10  females.  The  measurements  taken  in  tenths  of 
a  millimeter,  and  were  made  at  the  summits  of  the  gyri  and 
the  depths  of  sulci.  The  cortex  of  the  insula  was  included. 
The  figures  in  Table  II.  are  obtained  directly  from  those  of  his 
tables,  save  that  they  have  been  corrected  for  use  of  compasses. 

Major(M)  tested  the  thickness  of  the  cortex  at  thirty  locali- 
ties on  both  hemispheres  of  the  brains  of  four  adult  insane 
patients,  the  sex  not  given.  For  each  locality  he  gives  only 
the  mean  depth  using  one- fifth  of  an  inch  as  his  unit  of 
measure.  This  unit  is,  of  course,  too  large.  He  measured  the 
insular  cortex.  His  figures  for  the  cortical  thickness  give  the 
mean  depth  without  detail  as  to  the  method  of  obtaining  the 
mean.  The  instrument  used,  the  tephrylometer,  consisted  of 
a  thin  walled  graduated  glass  tube.  This  was  pressed  into 
the  brain  substance  at  any  desired  point,  then,  the  upper  end 
being  closed  by  the  finger,  withdrawn,  when  a  plug  of  brain 
substance  remained  within  the  tube  and  on  this  plug  the 
thickness  of  the  cortex  is  read  off  by  the  aid  of  the  scale 
etched  in  the  tube.  The  figures  in  Table.  II  are  the  simple 
averages  of  those  in  his  tables  without  any  corrections.  Con- 
cerning the  accuracy  of  this  method  of  measuring  the  cortex 
there  are  no  observations. 

Cionini(65)  presents  his  results  from  the  examination  of  fif- 
teen adult  brains,  ten  males,  five  females,  all  cases  of  general 
paralysis.  The  number  of  localities  was  31,  but  in  other  re- 
spects the  details  are  similar  to  those  in  the  case  of  Conti.  It 
occurs,  however,  that  in  five  cases,  three  males  and  two  fe- 
males, the  tables  are  so  incomplete  that  they  cannot  be  used 
for  averages,  and  hence  only  ten  cases  are  represented.  The 
figures  in  Table  II.  are  obtained  as  in  the  case  of  Conti.  • 

A  glance  at  Table  II.  shows  that  in  both  normals  and  defec- 
tives the  average  thickness  is  very  slightly,  — .01  to  — .04mm., 
greater  in  the  males  in  five  out  of  the  six  cases  (larger  number 
underlined).  There  is  a  slightly  greater  difference  between 
the  two  hemispheres,  which  is  in  favor  of  the  left  hemis- 
phere as  the  figures  stand  (eight  out  of  thirteen  cases).  In 
discussing  the  absolute  thickness  of  the  cortex  as  reported  we 
have,  of  course,  to  throw  out  the  defectives,  who  are,  ipso 
facto,  expected  to  have  a  thinner  cortex. 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAUEA  BRIDGMAN. 


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54  DONALDSON  : 

At  the  moment  I  have  no  explanation  to  offer  of  the  various 
figures  given  for  the  absolute  thickness  in  normal  persons  and 
will  simply  point  out  that  my  figures  agree  most  closely  with 
those  of  Jensen. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  average  thickness  for  the 
two  sexes  is  nearly  alike,  what  difference  there  is  being  in 
favor  of  the  males;  that  the  left  hemisphere  more  often  has 
the  thicker  cortex ;  that  in  defectives  (not  congenital)  it  is 
thinner  than  in  normal  persons,  and  that  the  figures  given 
for  the  absolute  thickness  in  normal  persons  are  at  present 
irreconcilable.  With  this  I  conclude  the  introductory  study 
of  the  subject. 

II.  Comparison  of  the  cortex  of  Laura  Bridgman  with 
that  of  nine  normal  brains  {six  males;  three  females') . 

The  normal  brains  were  obtained  in  New  York  about  a 
year  ago,  and  I  am  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  several  medi- 
cal gentlemen  of  the  city  for  them.  There  is  no  reason  to 
think  that  any  of  these  specimens  were  from  persons  of  more 
than  average  intelligence,  hence  on  that  score  they  are  com- 
parable with  the  Bridgman  brain.  They  were  hardened  in 
the  same  manner  that  the  latter  was  {vide  p.  9).  Samples 
of  cortex  were  taken  in  all  cases  from  II  localities  on  each 
hemisphere,  each  locality  being  designated  by  an  arbitrary 
number. 

Plate  III  shows  the  localities  with  the  numbers  used,  and 
is  intended  to  take  the  place  of  a  written  description. 

In  Table  III.  I  give  the  cortical  areas  in  which  the  localities 
are  situated. 

All  the  samples  from  the  several  localities  were  treated  in. 
the  same  manner,  viz.:  imbedded  in  celloidin,  cut  in  sections 
about  0.1  mm.  thick  and  measured,  unstained,  under  a  low 
magnifying  power.     It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  all  the 

Table  III. 


Locality.       Cortical  Area  for. 

Locality.       Cortical  Area  for. 

1.    Speech  motor  ? 

8.     Sight,  sensory. 

2.    Speech,  motor. 

9.                —  ? 

3.    Speech? 

10.    Taste  and  smell,  sensory- 

4.     Head  and  eyes,  motor. 

11.    Sight,  sensory. 

5.     Arm,  motor. 

12.    Touch,  sensory. 

6.    Hearing,  sensory. 

13.    Leg,  motor. 

7.               —  ? 

14.     Sight,  sensory. 

ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN. 


55 


measurements  were  concluded  before  any  calculations  were 
begun  and  that  precaution  was  taken  to  keep  the  results 
unprejudiced. 

Figures  for  the  average  thickness  at  each  locality  having 
been  obtained  from  all  the  brains  in  the  manner  above 
described,  the  localities  were  arranged  in  order,  from  the 
thickest  to  the  thinnest,  and  the  tables  thus  formed  were 
plotted  as  curves.     Vide  Plate  IV. 

The  principal  results  are  tabulated  in  Table  II  (under 
Donaldson,  normals),  and  in  Table  IV  a  further  analysis  is 
given.  The  figures  for  males  and  females  being  separated  in 
Table  IV,  those  for  the  right  and  left  hemispheres  are  given 
in  each  group  and  the  individuals  in  each  group  are  ranged 
according  to  age.  This  last  arrangement  was  made  to  see 
whether  they  showed  a  decrease  in  cortical  thickness  with 
advancing  age.  ContiC53)  reports  that  the  cortex  decreases 
regularly  from  a  maximum  at  3  years  to  a  minimum  in  ex- 
treme age.  I  do  not  pretend  to  discuss  the  question  here  but 
simply  refer  to  the  table  to  show  that  these  brains  when  thus 
arranged  do  not  exhibit  a  decrease. 

Table  IV. 
Thickness  of  Cortex  in  Controls  and  in  Laura  Bridgman. 

Males.  Females. 

Arranged  according  to  age.  Arranged  according  to  age. 


Age. 

Weight  in 
grms. 

R.  H. 

L.  II. 

Age. 

Weight  in 
grms. 

R.  H. 

L.  H. 

35 
35 
39 
45 
57 
Adult 

1419 
1443 
1393 
1367 
1464 
1210 

*  2.81 
2^7 
2.77 
2.90 
2.96 
3/14 

2.81 
3.09 
2^86 
2^93 
2T9T 
3.07 

40 
45 

Adult 

1196 
1173 
1312 

2.74 
2.80 
3.12 

2.74 
3~T»0 
3T02 

2.91 

2.94 

2.89 

2.92 

General  Average,  2.92. 

General  Average,  2.9  0. 

Laura  Bridgman, 

60 

1204 

2.55            2.62 

General  Average,  2.59 

*  The  underlining  has  the  same  significance  as  in  Table  II. 


5(5  DONALDSON  : 

The  cortex  of  the  left  hemisphere  is  in  five  cases  the  thicker, 
while  that  of  the  right  is  so  in  four.  The  maximum  differ- 
ence between  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  same  individual  is 
.22  mm.  (2.87  to  3.09).  The  averages  for  the  males  and  fe- 
males are  nearly  alike,  the  males  being  a  trifle,  .02  mm., 
thicker. 

If  the  results  for  each  locality  are  averaged  for  all  the  con- 
trols, these  averages  arranged  in  a  series  from  the  largest  to 
the  smallest  and  this  series  plotted  as  a  curve,  then  the  curve 
has  the  form  indicated  by  the  continuous  black  ink  line  on 
Plate  IV.  In  that  curve  the  insula,as  pointed  out  by  Major  (<*), 
has  the  thickest  cortex.  Next  follows  the  convex  surface 
of  the  hemispheres  with  little  variation,  and  then  the  thick- 
ness gradually  decreases  in  the  mesal,  occipital  and  orbital 
cortex,  in  the  order  named.  Table  V  gives  the  figures  from 
which  this  curve  is  formed  as  well  as  the  figures  for  the  two 
component  curves,  viz.:  that  for  the  males  and  that  for  the 
females. 


Locality. 
3      . 

Averages 
Averages 
Averages 
Unit  of  m 
i. 

! 

Table 

for  each  locality, 
for  each  locality, 
for  each  locality, 
easure,  1  mm. 

Average  for                  II 
ill  Controls.                    Coi 

3.38      

V. 

All  control?,  I. 
Controls,  Male,  II 
Controls,  Female, 

.    Average  for 
itrols.  (6)  Male. 

.     3.48      .... 
.      3.02      .... 
.      3.05      .... 
.      3.12      .... 
.      3.06      .... 
.      3.10      .... 
.      3.03      .... 
2.92      •   •    .    . 
.      2.82      .... 
.      2.83      .... 
.      2.65      .... 
.      2.67      .... 
.      2.60      .... 

III. 

in. 

Contn 

Average  for 
als,  (3)  Female. 

3.33 

7      . 

3.15      

3.43 

6      . 

3.10 

3.18 

4 

3.09      

3.04 

2      . 

3.08      

3.12 

5 

3.08      

3.04 

10      . 

3.04      

3.06 

1      . 

2.98      

3.06 

13      . 

2.86      

2.94 

12      . 

2.75      

2.60 

11 

2.65      

2.66 

8      . 

2.61      

2.50 

9 
14      . 

2.53      

2.41 

2.38 

Average,  2.92  2.91 

By  these  figures  I  aim  to  show  the  normal  thickness  of  the 
cortex  at  the  given  localities. 

The  figures  which  form  the  basis  for  the  curve  of  the 
Bridgman  brain  are  given  in  Table  VI.  The  average  thick- 
ness of  this  cortex  (see  Table  IV)  is  2.59  mm.,  which  is  0.32 
mm.  below  the  average  for  all  the  females  and  0.15  mm.  below 
that  for  the  female  in  whom  the  cortex  was  thinnest. 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         57 

Table  VI. 

I.    Averages  of  the  several  localities.    L.  B.,  right  hemisphere. 
II.    Averages  of  the  several  localities.    L.  B.,  left  hemisphere. 
III.    Averages  of  the  several  localities.    L.  B.,  both  hemispheres. 

Laura  Bridgman. 

Locality.  I.    R.  H.  II.    L.  H.  III.    Average. 

3      3.45      2.98      3.22 

7  ......  2.93  2.72  2.83 

6  2  26  2.56  2.41 

4  2.98  2.77  2.88 

2  2.74  2.89  2.82 

5  2.61  2.75  2.68 

10      2.51      2.41      2.46 

1      2.70      2.54      2.62 

13      2.81  2.69  2.75 

12      2.70  2.56  2.63 

11      1.99  2.72  2.36 

8      2.16  2.48  2.32 

9      1.99  2.27  2.13 

14      1.92      2.35      2.14 

Aver.   2.55  Aver.   2.62  Aver.   2.59 

The  curves  for  the  Bridgman  figures  are  plotted  on  Plate 
IV.  That  for  the  left  hemisphere  is  indicated  by  a  broken 
line  (dashes),  and  that  for  the  right  hemisphere  by  the  line  of 
long  and  short  dashes.  Attending  for  the  moment  to  these 
we  observe  a  remarkable  drop  at  6 ;  from  4  to  12  both 
curves  are  generally  low  with  a  special  depression  at  10,  and 
from  12  to  the  end  they  run  at  different  levels. 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  these  two  curves  are  fairly 
accordant  until  locality  11  is  reached.  Here  they  are  widely 
divergent,   approach  somewhat  at  8,  again  to  diverge  at  14. 

Taking  up  the  peculiarities  of  the  Bridgman  cortex  then  in 
the  order  in  which  they  occur  we  find  the  insula  (3)  thinner 
on  the  left  side.  Both  sides  very  thin  at  6,  the  auditory  area. 
Locality  2,  the  area  for  motor  speech,  is  well  developed  on 
both  sides.  From  4  to  13  the  development  is  poor,  specially 
so  at  10,  area  for  taste  and  smell.  At  12,  the  area  for  dermal 
sensations,  the  curve  is  high  again,  and  from  that  point  on 
commences  the  remarkable  divergence  in  the  curves  of  the 
two  hemispheres,  that  for  the  left  side  being  much  higher  at 
11,  8  and  14,  all  of  which  are  within  the  visual  area. 

Eeferring  now  to  the  description  which  I  have  previously 
given  (op.  cit.)  of  the  macroscopic  features  of  this  brain,  I 
may  briefly  attempt  to  collate  them  with  the  measurements  of 
the  cortex. 


58  DONALDSON  : 

The  insula  (3)  on  the  left  side  was  found  less  well  devel- 
oped.    It  has  the  thinner  cortex.     Vide  Waldschmidt(67). 

At  the  auditory  area  (6)1  could  not  decide  on  any  macroscop- 
ic defect,  but  have  since  determmined  that  the  first  temporal 
gyrus  at  its  caudal  end,  especially  on  the  right  side,  was  abnor- 
mally slender.  The  cortex  is  decidedly  thin  on  both  sides, 
most  markedly  so  on  the  right.  At  the  area  for  motor  speech, 
the  left  side  showed  a  clear  lack  of  development  (depression), 
but  the  cortex  was  not  particularly  thin  for  this  brain. 

At  10,  the  area  for  taste  and  smell,  there  was  a  general  lack 
of  development,  exhibited  by  the  entire  temporal  lobe.  This 
is  easily  explained  by  the  slow  growth  of  this  portion  of  the 
brain,  a  growth  which  was  quite  incomplete  at  the  period 
when  Laura  was  taken  ill  (2  years).  The  glossopharyngeal 
nerves  appeared  normal,  but  the  olfactory  bulbs  and  tracts  were 
small,  though  not  so  small  as  in  the  case  of  some  normal  per- 
sons. The  thinness  of  the  cortex  at  this  point  (10)  appears 
therefore  as  a  part  of  the  general  arrest  in  growth. 

Passing  now  to  the  visual  area  it  was  noticed  macroscopi- 
cally  that  both  occipital  lobes  were  blunted,  but  the  right  side 
turned  out  in  every  way  to  be  much  the  more  defective  and 
anomalous.  Concordantly  the  cortex  of  this  right  side  at  11, 
8,  and  14  is  much  thinner  than  that  of  the  left. 

It  must  be  recalled  here  that  although  at  the  age  of  two 
years,  Laura  became  completely  blind  in  her  left  eye,  yet  she 
retained  some  remnant  of  vision  with  her  right  eye  up  to  her 
eighth  year.  This  has  left  its  mark  on  the  entire  central  ap- 
paratus for  vision.     The  right  optic  nerve  is  larger  than  the 

left. 

Area  of  cross-section  of  R.  optic  nerve  =  5.00  □  mm. 
u       it       tt        it         it   l.       »       u      =3.38  "     " 

The  relation  in  the  tracts  is,  of  course,  reversed : 

Area  of  cross-section  of  R.  optic  tract  =  3.13  □  mm. 
t«      u       n  it        tt  l.      «         u     =4.69  "    « 

On  the  one  hand  then  we  have  loss  of  vision  in  left  eye  at 
2  years  of  age,  associated  with  the  smaller  optic  nerve  and 
tract — a  defectively  developed  right  occipital  lobe  and  a  thin 
cortex  in  the  right  visual  area.  On  the  other  hand  we  have 
some  vision  in  the  right  eye  up  to  the  eighth  year  of  age,  as- 
sociated with  the  larger  optic  nerve  and  tract,  the  more  nor- 
mal occipital  lobe  and  the  thicker  cortex. 


ON    THE    BRAIN   OF    LAURA    BRIDGMAN.  59 

The  general  thinning  of  the  motor  cortex  I  would  explain  in 
part  by  the  absence  of  the  fibres  through  which  the  motor  areas 
are  normally  associated  with  the  sensory  areas — here  defective 
— and  in  part  by  the  smaller  size  of  some  of  the  cell  elements 
and  non- development  of  others,  resulting  from  lack  of  stimuli. 
The  defects  in  the  visual  and  auditory  area  follow  directly 
from  the  loss  of  the  corresponding  sense  organs  and  conse- 
quent arrest  of  growth.  When  the  loss  is  not  at  first  com- 
plete a  good  deal  of  subsequent  development  is  possible. 
Why  the  speech-centre  has  not  a  thinner  cortex  I  cannot,  at 
the  moment,  explain. 

In  considering  the  fact  that  the  sensory  centers  are  much 
more  affected  than  the  motor,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
aside  from  the  special  loss  due  to  arrest  and  possibly  degen- 
eration falling  less  on  the  motor  than  on  the  sensory  centres, 
there  is  the  physiological  difference  that  each  motor  centres 
can  be  excited  by  way  of  any  sensory  centre,  and  hence,  so 
long  as  any  senses  are  left,  the  motor  centres  must  be  stimu- 
lated to  some  degree,  while  the  destruction  of  the  special  sense- 
organ  throws  a  given  sensory  centre  quite  out  of  function. 
The  physiological  conditions  in  the  two  cases  are  therefore 
quite  different  and  in  favor  of  the  development  of  the  motor 
side. 

For  reference.  I  introduce  here  several  tables  containing 
the  details  of  the  figures  Just  given. 

Table  VII.  gives  the  maximum  and  minimum  thickness  of 
the  cortex  as  observed  at  each  locality  on  Laura  Bridgman 
and  the  nine  controls.  The  maximum  was  taken  at  the  sum- 
mit of  the  gyrus  and  the  minimum  at  the  side  —  not  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sulcus.  The  average  of  the  maximum  and 
minimum  is  obtained  by  doubling  the  minimum,  adding  the 
result  to  the  maximum  and  dividing  the  sum  by  three.  This 
average  figure  is  given  in  the  third  column  for  each  hemi- 
sphere. The  averages  at  the  foot  of  the  first  and  second 
columns  are  obtained  by  dividing  the  sum  of  these  columns 
by  fourteen.  All  the  figures  in  this  table  are  corrected  for 
hardening,  so  that  they  represent  the  natural  thickness  of  the 
cortex.  The  observations  for  the  males  and  females  are  sepa- 
rated. 


60 


DONALDSON : 


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Table  VII.—  Males. 


Specimen              II. 

III. 

IV. 

>j 

R.H. 

L.  H. 

R.  H. 

L.  H. 

R.H. 

L.  H. 

a 

3 

Max 

Min. 

Aver. 

Max 

Min 

Aver 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

1 

3.04 

2.65 

2.78 

3.30220 

2.57 

3.24 

2.91 

3.02 

2 

3.36 

2.91 

3.06 

3.5613.11  3.26  3.24 

3.11 

3.15 

3.11 

2.98 

3.02 

3.49 

2.91 

3.10 

3.24 

3.17 

3,19 

3 

3.56 

2.91 

3.13 

3.88  J3.88 13.88 13.88 

2.91 

3.23 

3.56 

2.91 

3.13 

3.24 

2.75 

2.91 

3.88 

3.36 

3,53 

4 

3.24 

317 

3.19 

3.24  2.98i3.07  3.11  2.72 

2.85 

3.24 

2.59 

2.81 

3.81  !3.56 13.64 

3.69 

3.24 

2,39 

5 

3.56 

2.91 

3.13 

3.40  ;2.73  2.95 13.30 12.75 

2.93 

3.36  2.65 

2.89  3.56|3.30 

3.39 

3.56 

3.24 

3.35 

6 

3.56 

3.11 

3.26 

3.56  3.11(3.26  3.56  3.24 

3.35 

3.24 

2.91 

3.02:3.88  3.17 

3.41 

3.56 

2.91 

3.13 

7 

3.11 

2.91 

2.98 

3.43  2.39 12.74 '2.91  2.59 

2.70 

3.36 

3.24 

3.28  3.88 13.24 

3.45 

3.56 

3.43 

3.47 

8 

2.78 

2.59 

2.65 

2.59  2.20J2.33  2.59  2.26 

2.37 

2  91 

2.59 

2.7013.17  2.91 

3.00 

2.85 

2.59 

2,68 

9 

2.91 

1.94 

2.26 

2.65  2.39  2.48:2.59  ;2.20 

2.33 

2.72  2.01 

2.25  J3. 24 12.91 

3.02 

3.24 

2.72 

2,89 

10  3.11 

2.91 

2.98 

3.56  2.78  3.04  3.88  3.24  3.45 

3.24,3.24 

3.24!3.88j3.56 

3.67 

3.56 

2,91 

3  13 

11 

3.56 

3.11 

3.26 

3.30  2.65i2.87  2.391.94  2.09 

2.91  2.65 

2.74  3.24 

2.71 

2.89 

2.58 

2.07 

2  24 

12 

3.36 

2.2612.63 

3  36  3.11  3.19!3.24'2.59i2.81 

2.85  2.39 

2.5413.24 

2.59 

2.81 

3.49 

3.24 

3  3-5! 

13 

3.36  2.59  J2.85 

3.36  2.59|2.85 

2.91|2.26 

2.48 

2.65 

2.52 

2.56 

3.24 

2.85 

2.98 

14 

2.59 

2.39  2.46 

2.65 

2.46  2.52 

2  52  2.07 

2.22 

2.91 

2.72 

2.78 

3.04 

2.39 

2.61 

2.59 

2.39 

2.46 

iver. 

3.22 

2.742.90 

3.27 

2.76 

2.93 

3.09  2.61 

2.77 

3.09 

2.74 

2.86 

3.45 

2.99 

3.14 

3.32 

2.94 

3.07 

Table  VII.—  Males. 


Specimen 

IX. 

X. 

XII. 

£. 

R.  H. 

L.  H. 

R.  H. 

L.  H. 

R.  H. 

L.  H. 

b 

o 

1 
Max.  'Min. 

Aver. 

Max. 

Min.  Aver. 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

1 

3.56  2.80 

3.05 

3.24 

2.33 

2.63 

2.98 

2.78 

2.85 

3.49 

3.30 

3.36 

3.36 

2.91 

3,06 

2 

3.69  3.36  3.47 

3.36 

2.98 

3.11 

2.59 

2.26 

2.37 

3.11 

2.65 

2.80 

3.24 

2.78 

2.93 

3.56 

3  11 

3  W 

3 

4.013  88'3.92 

3.88 

3.49 

3.62 

3.88  3.56 

3.63 

3.88 

3.56 

3.67 

3.88 

3.56 

3.66 

3  56 

3  36 

3  43 

4 

3.17  2.91  3.00 

3.36 

2.91 

3.06 

3.49  &.17 

3.28 

3.43 

3.24 

3.30 

3.11 

2.59 

2.76 

3.56 

2  78 

3  04 

o 

3.23  2  9S3.06 

3.49 

2.91 

3.10 

3.242.91 

3.02 

3.88 

3.43 

3.58 

3.56 

2.91 

3.13 

3.24 

2,39 

3  67 

b 

3.56  2.33  2.74 

3.24 

3.17 

3.19  3.11  2.72 

2.85 

2.72 

2.59 

2.63 

3.49 

3.11 

3.24 

3.17 

2,26 

9  56 

V 

3.88  2.913  23 

3.36 

2.72 

2.93  3.56  !2.65  2.95 

3.69 

2.52 

2.91 

2.59 

2.39 

2.46 

3.36 

2,98 

311 

8 

3.24  2.6.*>  2.85 

3.56 

2.26 

2.69  2.98i2.52|2.67 

3.30 

2.85 

3.00 

2.78 

2.33 

2.48 

2.91 

2.46 

?,  61 

9 

2.91 

2.59  2.70 

2.85 

2.46 

2.59 

2.72  2.5912.63 

2.85 

3.34 

3.18 

2.72 

2.39 

2.50 

2.59 

2.20 

2  33 

10 

3.24 

2.65  2.85 

2.91 

2.39 

2.56 

2.59  2.39  2.46 

3.88 

3.30 

3.49 

3.24 

2.59 12.81 

3.36 

2.47 

9,  73 

11 

2.46 

2.39  2.41 

3.11 

2.39 

2.63 

3.36  J2.59  2.85 

3.43  12.59 

2.87'3.11 

2.26 

2.54 

2.59 

3.33 

9,41 

12 

3.30 

2.59  2.83 

3.36 

2.52 

2.80 

2.65,2.4<;  2.52 

3.36 

2.78 

2.97  3.36 

2.26 

2.63 

3.43 

3.59 

2  87 

13 

3.30 

2.72  2.91 

3.56 

3.24 

3.35 

3.11  2.98 

3.02 

3.49 

2.24 

2.66,3.88 

2.33 

2.85 

2.72 

2.46 

2.55 

14 

2.91 

2.14 

2.40 

2.59 

2.39 

2.46 

3.11 

2.98 

3.02 

3.04 

2.72 

2.83 

2.59 

2.26 

2.37 

3.56 

2.72 

3.00 

i.ver. 

3.32 

2.78 

2.96 

3.28 

2.73 

2.91 

3.10 

2.75 

2.87 

3.40 

2.94 

3.09 

3.21 

2.62 

2.81 

3.20 

2.62 

2.81 

62 


DONALDSON : 


Table  VIII.  is  derived  from  Table  VII.  by  arranging  the 
Ifigures  for  the  average  thickness  of  each  locality  in  each 
hemisphere  in  vertical  columns,  and  getting  the  averages  of 
these  for  the  females  alone,  for  the  males  alone,  and  for 
both  together. 

Table  VIII.     Controls  Only. 


Locality.     1.     2.     3.     4.     5.     6.     7.     8.     9.    10.    11.    12.    13.    14. 

2.70 

3.35 

3.27 

2.59 

2.97 

3.45 

3.30 

2.26 

2.20 

2.38 

2.95 

2.42 

3.22 

2.16 

IR-1 

3.22 

2.93 

3.45 

3.39 

3.48 

3.41 

3.75 

2.31 

2.69 

2.37 

2.89 

2.74 

2.87 

2.50 

IL. 

DD 

3.04 

3.23 

3.49 

3.30 

3.20 

3.62 

3.35 

3.04 

2.67 

3.23 

2.82 

2.93 

3.07 

2.74 

VIE. 

03 

3.62 

3.02 

3.54 

3.02 

3.23 

2.83 

3.35 

2.67 

2.31 

3.32 

2.75 

3.11 

2.46 

VI  L. 

a 

3.02 

2.94 

2.67 

2.72 

2.31 

3.11 

3.43 

2.41 

2.16 

3.67 

2.18 

2.56 

2.91 

2.31 

XI  R. 

£ 

2.78 

3.26 

2.74 

3.19 

3.06 

2.67 

3.38 

2.30 

2.43 

3.37 

2.35 

2.33 

2.43 

2.11 

XI  L.J 

Average : 
Females. 

3.06 

3.12 

3.33 

3.04 

3.04 

3.18 

3.43 

2.50 

2.41 

3.06 

2.66 

2.60 

2.94 

2.38 

2.78 

3.06 

3.13 

3.19 

3.13 

3.26 

2.98 

2.65 

2.26 

2.98 

3.26 

2.63 

2.85 

2.46 

II  R.l 

2.57 

3.26 

3.88 

3.07 

2.95 

3.262.74 

2.33 

2.48 

3.04 

2.87 

3.19 

2.85 

2.52 

II  L. 

3.15 

3.23 

2.85 

2.93 

3.35|2.70 

2.37 

2.33 

3.45 

2.09 

2.81 

2.48 

2.22 

IIIR. 

3.02 

3.02 

3.13 

2.81 

2.89 

3.02 

3.28 

2.70 

2.25 

3.24 

2.74 

2.54 

2.56 

2.78 

IIIL. 

3.10 

2.91 

3.64 

3.39 

3.41 

3.45 

3.00 

3.02 

3.67 

2.89 

2.81 

2.98 

2.61 

IV  R. 

3.19 

3.53 

3.39 

3.35 

3.13 

3.47 

2  68 

2.89 

313 

2.24 

3.32 

2.46 

IV  L. 

00 

3.05 

3.47 

3.92 

3.00 

3.06 

2.74 

3.23 

2.85 

2.70 

2.85 

2.41 

2.83 

2.91 

2.40 

IX  R. 

r  *c3 

2.63 

3.11 

3.62 

3.06 

3.10 

3.19  2.93 

2.69 

2.59 

2.56 

2.63 

2.80 

3.35 

2.46 

IX  L. 

a 

2.85 

2.37 

3.63 

3.28 

3.02 

2.85 

2.95 

2.67 

2.63 

2.46 

2.85 

2.52 

3.02 

3.02 

XR. 

3.36 

2.80 

3.67 

3.30 

3.58 

2.63 

2.91 

3.00 

3.18 

3.4912.87 

2.97 

2.66 

2.83 

XL. 

3.06 

2.93 

3.66 

2.76 

3.13 

3.24 

2.46 

2.48 

2.50 

2.81 

2.54 

2.63 

2.85 

2.37 

XII  R. 

3.26 

3.43 

3.04 

2.67 

2.56 

3.11 

2.61 

2.33 

2.73 

2.42 

2.87 

2.55 

3.00 

XII  L. 

Average : 
Males. 

2.92 

3.06 

3.48 

3.12 

3.10 

3.05 

3.02 

2.67 

2.60 

3.03 

2.65 

2.83 

2.82 

2.59 

Average : 













— 





Males  and 

2.98 

3.08 

3.38 

3.oy 

3.08 

3.16 

3.15 

2.61 

2.53 

3.04 

2.65 

2.75 

2.8fc 

2.52 

Females. 

Table  IX.  gives  the  difference  in  the  thickness  of  the  cortex 
in  the  two  hemispheres  of  those  controls  in  which  the 
difference  is  greatest.  The  figures  on  which  this  table  is 
based  are  found  in  the  "average"  columns  of  Table  VII. 
The  controls  are  grouped  into  males  and  females  and  the  in- 
stance of  greatest  difference  found  for  each  group.  To  be 
compared  with  this  is  the  difference  in  the  same  localities  in 
the  Bridgman  brain.  The  figures  for  fhe  latter  show  that 
the  differences  are  much  within  the  extremes  of  the  controls 


ON   THE   BRAIN   OF   LAURA   BRIDGMAN.  63 

except  at  those  localities  where  the  largest  difference  is  to  be 
expected  i.  e.,  3,  8,  11,  14 — where  they  may  exceed  those  of 
the  controls.  The  roman  numeral  indicates  the  number  of  the 
specimen  and  the  side  which  is  larger  is  first  designated,  so 
that  VI  L.-VI  E.  means  that  the  left  hemisphere  has  the 
thicker  cortex  in  control  VI.  It  is  not  without  interest  in 
this  case  that  among  the  females,  9,  and  among  the  males, 
11  out  of  the  14  cases  have  the  left  cortex  the  thicker. 


Table  IX. 

Greatest  Differences 

in  Cortical  Thickness, 

Females. 

Males. 

L.  B. 

Loc. 

Gr.  Diff. 

Specimen. 

Gr.  Din 

'.              Specimen. 

Gr.  Diff. 

1. 

.58 

VI  L.— VI  R. 

.51 

X  L.— X  E. 

.16 

E.  L. 

2. 

.42 

IE.— IL. 

.43 

X  L.— X  E. 

.15 

l.  e. 

3. 

.18 

I  L.— I  E. 

.75 

II  L.— II  E. 

.47 

E.  L. 

4. 

.80 

I  L.— I  E. 

.28 

XII  L.— XII  E. 

.21 

E.  L. 

5. 

.75 

XI  L.— XI  E. 

.56 

X  L.— X  E. 

.14 

L.  e. 

6. 

.79 

VI  E.— VI  L' 

.68 

XII  E.— XII  L. 

.30 

l.  e. 

7. 

.45 

I  L.— I  E. 

.65 

XII  L.— XII  E. 

.21 

E.  L. 

8. 

.37 

VI  E.— VI  L. 

.33 

f   XL.— XE.    | 

1  in l.— hie.  / 

.32 

L.  e. 

9. 

.49 

I  L.— I  E. 

.55 

X  L.— X  E. 

.28 

L.  E. 

10. 

.30 

XI  E.— XI  L. 

.54 

IV  E.— IV  L. 

.10 

E.  L. 

11. 

.17 

XI  L.— XI  E. 

.65 

/  III  L.— Ill  E,  \ 
\  IV  E.— IV  L.  / 

.73 

L.  e. 

12. 

.32 

I L.— I  E. 

.56 

II  L.— II  E. 

.14 

E.  L. 

13. 

.48 

XI  E.— XI  L. 

.44 

IX  L.— IX  E. 

.12 

E.  L. 

14. 

.34 

I  L.— I  E. 

.63 

XII  L.— XII  E. 

.43 

L.  e. 

III. — Histological  Examination. 

The  Bridgman  brain  was  not  well  enough  preserved  to  ad- 
mit of  a  very  fine  microscopical  examination.  Some  points 
can  be  made  out,  however,  on  sections  .02  mm.  thick,  stained 
with  hematoxylin  and  eosin,  or  hematoxylin  and  carminic 
acid,  or  with  Weigert-Pal  hematoxylin.  Whatever  general 
statements  are  made  are  always  in  comparison  with  the  nine 
controls,  from  which  sections  were  also  cut  and  similarly 
stained. 

The  cells  generally  in  the  Bridgman  cortex  have  abundant 
pigment — the  nuclei  often  somewhat  irregular  and  the  nucleoli 
sometimes  single  and  clear,  often  multiple  and  unclear,  and,  at 
times,  wanting.  Where  the  cortical  granules  form  layers  they 
appear  abundant,    as    a   rule,    and  immature  (i.  e.,  without 


64 


DONALDSON 


angles),  as  though  they  had  been  arrested  in  their  growth. 
The  general  impression  one  gets  is,  that  the  large  nerve  cells 
are  neither  so  large  nor  so  numerous  as  in  the  normal  brains. 
Of  cell  processes  and  abundance  of  fibres  one  can  only  say,  that 
there  appear  less  of  both  in  all  localities,  and  hasten  to  add, 
that  the  poor  condition  of  the  material  makes  itself  painfully 
felt  at  this  point. 

It  seemed  worth  while,  however,  to  select  sections  from 
several  localities,  especially  those  in  which  the  cortex  of  the 
Bridgman  brain  appeared  thin,  and  attempt  to  get  some  no- 
tion of  the  development  of  the  cell  elements  at  these  points. 

To  arrive  at  this  result  I  counted  the  number  of  cells  above 
a  given  diameter  in  a  strip  of  the  cortex,  comparing  the  num- 
ber found  in  the  Bridgman  cortex  with  that  in  two  controls. 
For  results  see  Table  X. 

Table  X. 

To  show  the  average  number  of  cells  12  /j,  in  transverse  diameter  which 
occur  in  0.01  □  mm.  of  cerebral  cortex  at  the  localities  named.  Sec- 
tions .02  mm.  thick. 


Male. 


Female. 


Control  III. 

Control  XI. 

Laura  Bridgman. 

Locality. 

*R. 

tL. 

Aver. 

K. 

L. 

Aver. 

R. 

L. 

Aver. 

Speech,   2 

.85 

1.10 

0.975 

1.06 

1.16 

1.11 

.93 

.80 

0.865 

Insula,     3 

1.15 

1.04 

1.10 

1.15 

1.03 

L09 

1.00 

1.07 

1.035 

Head  and 
Eyes,       4 

1.13 

1.40 

1.26 

1.03 

1.46 

1.25 

1.11 

1.19 

1.15 

Hearing,  6 

1.23 

.99 

lTTi 

1.23 

1.21 

1.225 

.81  c 

.92 

0.865 

Taste  and 
Smell,    10 

.82 

1.12 

0.97 

1.34 

.97 

1.155 

.86 

1.05 

0.955 

Sight,     11 

1.03 

.99 

1.01 

1.08 

.95 

1.015 

.47  c 

1.01 

0.74 

Sight,     14 

1.13 

1.08 

1.105 

.99 

1.08 

L03~ 

.40  c 

.92 

0.66 

Average, 

1.075 

1.125 

0.895 

*  B.  =  Bight  hemisphere, 
t  L.  =  Left  hemisphere. 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         65 

To  obtain  these  figures  the  following  method  was  employed. 
The  specimen  was  fixed  upon  a  mechanical  stage  in  such  a 
way  that  the  direction  of  motion  was  vertical  to  the  cortex. 
It  was  examined  with  a  Zeiss  apochromatic  objective,  4  mm. 
focus,  combined  with  the  compensating  eye- piece  6,  tube 
160  mm.,  thus  giving  an  enlargement  of  375  diameters. 

The  eye-piece  carried  the  micrometer  with  50  divisions. 
With  the  objective  used,  each  division  had  a  value  of  4  p. 
The  whole  scale  covered  therefore  50  times  .004  mm.  =  .2  mm. 

Placing  the  micrometer  scale  so  that  it  was  at  right  angles 
to  the  direction  of  motion  for  the  specimen,  and  passing  the 
specimen  in  review  by  means  of  the  mechanical  stage,  a  strip 
of  cortex  .2  mm.  wide  could  be  brought,  throughout  its  entire 
extent,  under  the  scale.  In  this  manner  the  nerve  cells  were 
sifted,  so  to  speak,  through  the  micrometer  scale,  and  each 
one  that  was  12  «  or  more  in  diameter  was  picked  out 
and  counted. 

In  selecting  the  point  on  the  section  at  which  to  make  this 
test  I  always  took  the  spot  where  the  cells  were  apparently — 
to  a  low  power — most  abundant,  and  in  all  cases  everything 
in  the  field  that  could  be  counted  was  counted. 

The  depth  of  the  cortex  where  the  count  was  made  was 
multiplied  by  the  constant  width,  .2  mm.,  and  the  total  num- 
ber of  cells  divided  by  this  product,  using  .01  sq.  mm.  as  the 
unit.  The  thickness  of  the  section  was  always  .02  mm., 
which  being  a  constant  factor  may  be  neglected.  By  this 
treatment  it  comes  out  that  about  one  cell,  12  y.  or  more  in 
basal  diameter,  normally  occurs  in  each  .01  sq.  mm.  of  a  sec- 
tion .02  mm.  thick. 

For  comparison  with  the  Bridgman  sections  I  took  those 
from  Control  III.  (Brain  weight  1,393  gr.,  male,  average  thick- 
ness of  cortex  R.  H.  2.77  m.,  L.  H.  2.86  m.),  and  Control  XI. 
(Brain  weight  1,196  gr.,  female,  average  thickness  of  cortex 
E.  H.  2.74  m.,  L.  H.  2.74  m.),  (see  Table  IV.),  thus  happen- 
ing to  get  both  the  male  and  female  with  the  thinnest  cortex. 

Table  X.  shows  that,  taking  the  average  of  both  sides,  at  no 
locality  in  the  Bridgman  brain  are  the  large  nerve  cells,  as  abun- 
dant as  in  the  controls.  The  number  in  both  the  controls  is 
nearly  the  same. 


66  DONALDSON  : 

Taking  the  matter  more  in  detail  the  motor  areas  in  Laura 
do  not  show  as  great  a  poverty  of  large  cells  as  the  sensory 
areas. 

In  three  instances  (marked  c  in  Table  X.),  the  abundance 
of  cells  accords  with  the  thickness  of  the  cortex — i.  e.,  the 
thicker  cortex  has  the  larger  number  of  cells.  These  in- 
stances include  the  ones  in  which  the  Bridgman  cortex  most 
clearly  deviates  from  the  normals. 

As  in  the  measurements  of  cortical  thickness,  so  in  the 
abundance  of  cells,  the  Bridgman  brain  is  clearly  deficient  at 
6,  the  auditory  area  and  in  the  right  hemisphere  at  11  and  14, 
visual  area,  while  in  the  left  hemisphere  some  deficiency  is  to 
be  noted  only  at  14,  thus  again  bringing  out  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  occipital  regions  on  the  two  sides.  Locality  10  has 
fewer  cells  than  the  controls,  but  the  difference  is  not  so 
marked  as  in  the  thickness  of  the  cortex. 

In  general  it  may  be  added  that  where  the  number  of  cells 
above  12  /".  in  basal  diameter  was  small,  that  there  the  abso- 
lute number  of  large  cells  appeared  smaller,  and  the  very 
largest  cells  not  so  large,  as  in  the  controls.  In  other  words, 
small  number  and  small  size  of  large  cells  appeared  to  be 
associated,  though  I  have  no  figures  to  present  on  the  point. 
If,  however,  my  impression  is  correct,  then  Table  X.  only  in 
part  represents  the  difference  in  the  development  of  the  cor- 
tical cells  of  Laura  as  compared  with  the  controls. 

Summary. 

/. — General. 

1.  No  figures  can  be  given  for  the  average  thickness  of  the 
fresh  normal  cortex.  The  various  investigators  differ  widely 
in  their  results.  My  own  results  agree  most  closely  with 
those  of  Jensen. 

2.  Persons  with  an  acquired  defect  of  the  central  nervous 
system  have  a  thinner  cortex  than  normal  persons. 

3.  Females  have  a  slightly  thinner  cortex  than  males. 
Difference  less  than  1  % . 

4.  The  right  hemisphere  (normally)  has  a  cortex  a  few  per- 
cent less  thick  than  the  left.     Maximum  difference  1%. 


ON   THE   BEAIN   OF   LAUEA   BEIDGMAN.  67 

II. — Special. 

1.  The  cortex  of  Laura  Bridgman  was  abnormally  thin, 
having  but  89%  of  the  thickness  of  the  controls.  If  we  sup- 
pose that  in  its  other  dimensions  the  cortex  was  similarly 
reduced  in  development,  i.  e.  by  11%  in  each  linear  meas- 
urement, then  its  normal  extent  would  have  been  246,808  sq. 
mm.  instead  of  200,202.5  sq.  mm.  as  found.  This  estimate 
is  similar  to  some  of  those  by  the  Italian  observers,  Calori 
(«»)  and  De  Eegibus  (17"p- 276). 

2.  The  right  hemisphere  had  on  the  average  the  thinner 
cortex — specially  to  be  associated  with  the  defective  visual 
area. 

3.  The  thinning  in  the  motor  areas  was  not  so  well  marked 
as  in  the  areas  for  the  defective  senses. 

4.  Cortex  of  motor  speech  centre  was  not  thin. 

5.  Cortex  of  area  for  dermal  sensations  was  well  developed. 

6.  Auditory  areas  (6)  on  both  sides  and  visual  area  on 
right  side  (11,  8,  14)  remarkably  thin. 

7.  Area  for  taste  and  smell  (10)  thin — associated  with  the 
generally  undeveloped  state  of  the  temporal  lobe. 

III.  — Histological. 

1.  The  cortex  of  Laura  Bridgman  contained  an  abnormally 
small  number  of  large  nerve  cells — i.  e.,  cells  12  /".  or  more  in 
transverse  basal  diameter. 

2.  There  were  fewer  nerve  cells  in  the  samples  from  the 
right,  than  in  those  from  the  left  hemisphere. 

3.  The  deficiency  of  nerve  cells  was  not  so  well  marked  in 
the  motor  as  in  the  sensory  areas. 

4.  In  the  centre  for  motor  speech  (2)  the  number  of  nerve 
cells  was  abnormally  small. 

5.  Number  of  nerve  cells  very  small  in  the  auditory  areas 
(6),  both  sides,  and  in  the  visual  area  (11,  8,  14)  on  the  right 
side. 

6.  Some  diminution  in  the  number  of  cells  at  (10),  area 
for  taste  and  smell.     Region  generally  undeveloped. 

7.  The  small  number  of  cells  was  associated  with  small 
size  of  the  largest  cells. 


68  GETCHELL  : 

The  persistence  of  vision,  though  in  a  very  defective  form, 
is  still  of  great  importance  to  the  full  development  of  the 
visual  cortex — e.  g..  right  eye  and  left  visual  area  in  Laura. 


Observations  on  the  Olfactory  Begion. 


Albert  C.  Getchell,  M.  D.,  Worcester. 


Description  of  the  Specimen. 

The  specimen  submitted  for  examination  was  a  portion  of 
the  ethmoid  bone,  extending  from  the  anterior  base  of  the 
crista  galli  to  the  sphenoid  bone,  a  small  part  of  the  sphenoid 
being  included  in  it.  It  contained  nearly  all  the  perpendicular 
plate  of  the  ethmoid.  At  the  sphenoidal  end  the  lateral  sur- 
faces were  devoid  of  mucous  membrane  ;  towards  the  frontal 
end  the  surfaces  were  quite  covered  with  the  remains  of  mem- 
brane in  a  ragged  condition.  The  right  superior  turbinated 
bone  presented  a  smooth  surface  marked  with  grooves.  Be- 
tween it  and  the  perpendicular  plate  was  mucous  membrane. 
Little  of  the  left  superior  turbinated  bone  remained,  and  that 
which  did  was  rough  and  without  grooves.  The  entire  speci- 
men measured  from  the  extreme  frontal  to  the  sphenoidal 
end,  3  cm.;  from  the  apex  of  the  crista  to  the  farthest  point 
on  the  perpendicular  plate,  2.2  cm.;  laterally  its  greatest 
measurement  was  through  the  horizontal  plate  of  the  ethmoid, 
.5  cm.  This  line  represented  the  base  of  two  triangles ;  the 
apex  of  one  being  the  tip  of  the  crista,  that  of  the  other  the 
farthest  point  on  the  perpendicular  plate  of  the  ethmoid. 

The  specimen  had  been  hardened  in  Miiller's  fluid,  and  de- 
calcified in  a  saturated  solution  of  picric  acid,  the  process  being 
completed  in  a  1%  solution  of  hydrochloric  acid.  It  was  im- 
bedded in  celloidin,  and  most  of  the  sections  were  stained  with 
Delafield's  hsematoxylin  and  eosine.  Four  additional  stains 
were  used  for  nerves,  viz.:  Upson's  carminic  acid,  Schaefer's 
nigrosine,  hsematoxylin  und  carminic  acid,  and  Pal's 
hsematoxylin. 

Results  of  the  Microscopic  Examination. 

For  the  purpose    of   comparison,   I  obtained  a  specimen 


ON   THE    BRAIN   OF   LAURA    BRIDGMAN.  69 

similar  to  the  one  under  consideration.  This  was  a  portion  of 
the  ethmoid  bone  taken  from  an  elderly  man  who  had  been  a 
patient  at  the  Worcester  Insane  Asylum,  and  had  died  there. 
The  presumption  would  be  that  this  specimen  could  not  be 
taken  as  a  type  of  the  normal,  for  it  is  difficult  to  suppose 
that  one  could  pass  the  greater  part  of  a  long  life  in  this 
climate  without  having  had  more  or  less  nasal  catarrh.  The 
specimen  was,  however,  healthy  in  its  gross  appearance :  that 
is,  it  was  symmetrical,  both  superior  turbinated  bones  were 
present ;  their  surfaces  were  shiny  and  grooved  ;  the  mucous 
membrane  was  generally  and  uniformly  distributed  between 
the  perpendicular  plate  and  the  superior  turbinated  bones. 
The  next  point  to  consider  was  its  microscopic  appearance, 
and  here  arose  the  question,  What  is  our  standard  for  the 
normal?  The  work  in  this  region  has  been  done  mainly  upon 
the  lower  animals,  and  while  the  results  obtained  are  in  the 
main  applicable  to  the  olfactory  region  of  the  higher  animals, 
including  man,  obviously  it  would  be  of  great  assistance  to 
have  well-conducted  studies  upon  the  olfactory  region  of  man. 
In  an  investigation  upon  the  olfactory  region  of  a  case  of 
leukaemia  Hermann  Suchannek(84)  has  touched  upon  this 
topic.  He  has  figured  a  microscopic  section  of  the  olfactory 
region  of  a  man  40  years  old,  with  a  normal  sense  of  smell. 
The  picture  agrees  with  the  usual  description  of  this  region. 
It  represents  a  section  consisting  of  a  regular  row  of  epithelial 
cells,  resting  upon  a  basement  membrane,  beneath  which  are 
many  Bowman's  glands,  a  few  blood  vessels  and  nerves,  with 
little  intertubular  connective  tissue.  Unfortunately  no  meas- 
urements are  given,  either  of  the  entire  mucous  membrane  or 
the  epithelium.  My  specimen  presented  a  different  appear- 
ance. The  epithelial  layer  preserved  for  the  most  part  its 
normal  characteristics  of  a  regular  row  of  columnar  cells  rest- 
ing upon  a  row  of  round  cells,  the  epithelial  cells  being  well 
formed  and  distinct.  In  many  places,  however,  the  surface 
was  not  so  well  defined,  but  was  breaking  into  crowded 
irregular  masses  of  granular  matter,  while  the  subjacent  layer 
of  round  cells  had  disappeared,  and  its  place  was  taken  by  a 
mass  of  round  cells,  which  penetrated  deeply  the  underlying 
tissue.  In  these  localities  the  surface  layer  of  cells  was  thrown 


70  GETCHELL : 

into  folds  which  projected  above  the  surface,  and  also  rami- 
fied into  the  mucous  membrane,  like  glands.  There  was  a  gen- 
eral increase  of  connective  tissue.  The  thickness  of  the  entire 
mucous  membrane  varied  from  .16  mm.  to  .88  mm.  Those 
localities  that  measured  .16  mm.,  taking  as  a  standard  the 
usual  description  and  the  figure  of  Suchannek,  were  fairly 
normal.  The  epithelium  of  these  regions  was  particularly 
healthy.  The  epithelial  layer  varied  from  30/'  to  98,"  in  thick- 
ness (Kolliker  quoted  by  Schwalbe(86)  gives  40/*  to  98,"  as  the 
normal  thickness).  It  was  thinnest  at  the  extreme  vault  of  the 
olfactory  fissure. 

In  the  Bridgman  sections  the  thickness  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane entire  varied  from  .16  mm.  to  .64  mm.,  and  the  thickness 
of  the  epithelial  layer  from  48,"  to  90/^.  Taking  .16  mm.  as  the 
thickness  of  the  normal  mucous  membrane,  I  found  those  areas 
of  the  mucous  membrane  that  were  of  this  thickness,  far  from 
normal.  The  surface  of  the  epithelial  layer  was  covered  with 
thin  granular  matter,  and  the  surface  line  was  very  irregular. 
The  cells  took  the  stain  poorly,  showing  that  they  were 
degenerating  into  mucus.  In  many  places  the  cell  bodies 
had  entirely  disappeared,  leaving  a  mere  outline  of  their 
former  structures.  The  row  of  round  cells  had  disappeared 
and  its  place  was  taken  by  a  mass  of  cells,  now  pushing  up 
into  the  epithelial  layer,  now  invading  the  membranalimitans. 
In  the  sub- epithelial  tissue  there  was  a  dense  deposit  of  con- 
nective tissue.  In  no  part  of  the  specimen  was  the  epithelium 
healthy.  At  some  points  the  mucous  membrane  was  en- 
tirely devoid  of  epithelial  cells  ;  at  others,  there  was  the  row 
of  round  cells,  now  single,  now  two  or  three  deep.  In  some 
places  these  cells  were  becoming  polygonal  in  shape ;  again 
over  them  was  a  crowded  confused  mass  of  irregular  cells 
breaking  away.  In  some  places  there  were  breaks  of  continuity 
in  the  line  of  epithelial  cells,  otherwise  fairly  regular  in  their 
size  and  distribution.  There  were  also  places  where  the  sur- 
face of  the  mucous  membrane  was  thrown  into  elevations. 
There  was  generally  a  large  increase  of  connective  tissue, 
which,  in  some  areas,  had  replaced  everything  else.  In 
other  areas  was  abundant  infiltration  of  small,  round  cells. 
Bowman's  glands  were  very  irregularly  distributed  and  varied 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         71 

much  in  their  character.  They  presented  all  gradations  from 
a  ring  of  fairly  healthy  polygonal  cells  to  a  confused  mass 
of  granular  matter. 

The  mucous  membrane  on  the  right  of  the  septum  was  much 
healthier  than  that  on  the  left.  Its  thickness  was  uniform, 
though  in  some  places  there  was  an  increased  deposit  of  con- 
nective tissue.  The  curve  into  the  vault  of  the  olfactory  fis- 
sure was  uninterrupted  and  regular  throughout  this  side  of 
the  specimen.  The  epithelial  cells,  though  individually  under- 
going degeneration,  were  fairly  regular  in  outline.  Bowman's 
glands  were  numerous  in  the  frontal  part  of  the  specimen,  but 
toward  the  sphenoidal  end  they  had  disappeared.  Through- 
out this  area  were  nerves  and  blood-vessels,  with  greatly 
thickened  walls.  The  left  side  of  the  specimen  presented  a 
very  different  picture.  In  the  frontal  fifth  of  the  olfactory  fis- 
sure was  crowded  a  mass  of  connective  tissue,  in  which  were 
nerves,  blood-vessels,  glands,  covered  ventrad  with  de- 
generated epithelium.  Still  ventrad  to  this,  the  perpendicular 
plate  was  devoid  of  mucous  membrane,  as  was  also  that  part  of 
the  superior  turbinated  bone  which  remained ;  the  greater 
part  of  this  bone  was  either  in  small  fragments  or  had  entirely 
disappeared.  The  remaining  four-fifths  of  this  side  of  the 
specimen  was  occupied  by  a  fibrous  tumor,  which  was,  as  it 
were,  in  a  closed  cavity,  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  septum 
having  firmly  united  with  that  of  the  superior  turbinated 
bone,  giving  in  the  sections  the  appearance  of  a  ring  lined 
with  epithelium,  enclosing  the  tumor.  The  tumor  sprang  from 
the  septum  and  projected  into  the  superior  meatus.  Its  length 
from  its  frontal  to  its  sphenoidal  end,  estimated  by  the  num- 
ber of  sections  in  which  it  was  found,  was  upwards  of  1.5  cm. 
It  was  irregularly  polygonal  in  shape,  and  measured  at  its 
frontal  end  1.12  mm.  in  height  (that  is,  from  the  septum  to 
the  apex  of  the  tumor)  and  1.05  mm.  in  breadth,  while  at  its 
sphenoidal  end  the  corresponding  measurements  were  2.50 
mm.  and  1.44  mm.  Its  character  changed  from  the  frontal  to 
the  sphenoidal  end.  In  the  frontal  region  it  was  made  up  of 
a  central  column  of  dense  connective  tissue,  which  supported 
nerves,  blood  vessels,  Bowman's  glands,  the  whole  being  cov- 
ered with  a  layer  of  epithelium  as  healthy  as  that  in  any  part 


72  GETOHELL : 

of  the  specimen.  At  the  sphenoidal  end  the  central  column 
was  divided  by  a  fissure,  Bowman's  glands  had  disappeared, 
and  the  whole  tumor  was  filled  with  spaces  of  irregular  shape, 
many  of  them  full  of  blood  corpuscles.  Blood  vessels 
remained,  but  there  were  few  nerves  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  tumor  was  devoid  of  epithelium. 

The  Nerves. 

There  were  two  varieties  of  nerves  in  the  specimen,  a 
branch  of  the  ophthalmic  division  of  the  fifth  which  passes 
into  the  nose  through  the  fissure  at  the  base  of  the  crista 
galli,  and  the  olfactory  nerves.  The  branch  of  the  fifth,  a 
medullated  nerve,  was  in  the  main  normal.  The  axis  cylin- 
ders stood  out  sharply  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the 
sections.  In  some  areas,  however,  they  had  lost  this  dis- 
tinctness and  showed  signs  of  beginning  degeneration.  But 
the  change  was  no  greater  than  might  be  expected  in  a  woman 
of  Laura's  age. 

Before  entering  upon  the  description  of  the  olfactory  nerves 
of  this  specimen,  it  will  be  well  to  discuss  briefly  the  normal 
and  pathological  anatomy  of  the  olfactory  nerve  in  general. 

The  generally  accepted  view  of  the  non- medullated  nerve, 
of  which  the  olfactory  is  a  type,  is  that  it  is  made  up  of  the 
so-called  Remak's  fibres.  Each  of  these  consists  of  an  axis 
cylinder,  a  neurilemma,  and  between  the  two  a  nucleated 
nerve  corpuscle  from  place  to  place.  This  fibre  has  a  striated 
appearance  due,  according  to  Max  Schultze,  to  the  fibrillae  of 
the  nerve,  which  are  distinguished  from  the  axis  cylinders  of 
a  medullated  nerve  in  that  they  individually  have  no  medul- 
lary sheath.  Boveri(86),  on  the  other  hand,  has  made  a  care- 
ful study  of  this  subject,  and  concludes  that  the  fibrillae  of 
Max  Schultze  are  really  nerve  fibres,  each  having  a  medul- 
lated sheath.  This  sheath  does  not,  however,  belong  exclu- 
sively to  each  nerve.  It  sustains  the  same  relation  to  the 
contiguous  nerve  fibres  that  the  cell  wall  of  a  honey-comb 
does  to  the  cells.  A  number  of  these  nerves  are  surrounded 
by  an  envelope  of  connective  tissue,  in  which  are  here  and 
there  stellate  connective  tissue  corpuscles.  There  are  also 
within  the  investing  sheath,  among  the  nerves,  connective 


ON   THE   BEAIN   OF   LATJEA   BEIDGMAN.  73 

tissue  corpuscles,  with  stellate  rays  which  can  be  traced  very 
far,  even  to  the  enclosing  sheath. 

The  olfactory  nerves  are  subject  to  certain  definite  patho- 
logical conditions.  In  the  first  place,  they  may  be  congen- 
ially absent.  Injury  to  the  head  may  cause  rupture  to  the 
nerves  as  they  pass  through  the  cribriform  plate.  Excessive 
stimulation  may  temporarily  or  permanently  destroy  their 
excitability.  Tumors  in  the  brain  or  cerebral  hemorrhage 
may  by  pressure  cause  disease  of  the  olfactory  nerves.  There 
may  be  atrophy  of  the  bulb  or  nerves,  or  they  may  be  affected 
by  the  degenerative  changes  of  old  age.  Simple  neuritis  is  a 
very  rare  affection  (Althaus)  (87).  Chronic  neuritis,  due  to 
syphilis,  however,  is  not  uncommon.  The  nerve  may  become 
involved  in  local  inflammatory  changes  in  connection  with 
meningitis.  Bosworth(88)  is  of  the  opinion  that  a  very 
frequent  cause  of  anosmia  from  diseases  of  the  olfactory 
nerves  is  due  to  the  influence  of  local  inflammatory  changes. 
Thus  in  acute  rhinitis,  anosmia  persists  many  days  after  the 
inflammatory  process  undergoes  resolution.  In  severer 
disease  of  the  nose,  where  the  local  inflammatory  action  per- 
sists longer,  or  is  of  a  severer  type,  the  anosmia  lasts  much 
longer,  long  after  the  inflammatory  action  has  subsided. 

To  return  to  our  specimen.  The  nerves  were  numerous 
and  were  easily  distinguished  by  moderate  powers  of  the 
microscope  (320  diameters.)  To  get  some  definite  idea  of  the 
distribution  of  the  nerves  in  the  different  parts  of  the  specimen 
I  selected  five  slides  and  counted  the  nerves  on  them.  One  of 
these  sections  was  from  the  frontal  end,  one  from  the  sphe- 
noidal, the  other  three  at  regular  intervals  between  them.  I 
also  made  a  count  of  the  nerves  of  the  control  specimen  under 
similar  conditions,  with  the  following  results,  (The  slide 
numbered  one  in  each  case,  was  from  the  frontal  end). 

Bridgman.  Control. 


I3t  slide,                1 

uerve. 

1st  slide,               4  nerves 

2nd      "                   7 

tt 

2nd 

"                20 

3rd      "                28 

It 

3)d 

"                10       " 

4th       •                32 

tt 

4th 

tt                   8       u 

5th      »                18 

tt 

5th 

it                  15        tt 

Total  86 

Total  57 

74  GETCHBLL  : 

This  enumeration  is  of  interest  in  that  it  shows  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  nerves  in  the  different  parts  of  the  specimens, 
but  it  gives  no  reliable  information  as  to  the  relative  number 
of  uerves  in  the  two  specimens.  It  is  a  difficult  matter,  even 
under  favorable  conditions,  to  stain  the  olfactory  nerves  so 
as  to  show  the  nerve  fibres.  In  neither  of  these  specimens 
was  I  able  to  show  the  olfactory  nerves  with  the  special  stains 
for  nerve  tissue.  The  only  stain  that  brought  them  out  at  all 
was  the  hematoxylin  and  eosine,  which  did  it  by  virtue  of  its 
differentiating  the  connective  tissue.  We  shall  see  that  this 
latter  was  greatly  increased  in  the  Bridgman  specimen,  and 
it  is  evident  that  because  of  this  many  more  nerves  would 
be  detected  than  in  the  healthier  specimen. 

In  the  Bridgman  slides,  the  nerves  were  surrounded  by  a 
ring  of  connective  tissue  which  was  very  thick.  Within  this 
ring  was  a  uniformly  granular  field  broken  up  into  smaller 
areas,  and  more  or  less  studded  with  deeply  stained  dots. 
With  a  T^  oil  immersion  objective,  these  dots  were  seen  to  be 
stellate  connective  tissue  corpuscles.  The  areas  alluded  to 
above  corresponded  to  the  portions  of  the  nerve  bounded  by 
the  connective  tissue  envelope  in  Boveri's  sections.  Here,  as 
with  his  sections,  the  connective  tissue  corpuscles  were  upon 
and  within  the  sheaths.  Bather  the  connective  tissue  cor- 
puscles of  the  sheath  were  where  the  sheath  should  be,  that 
place  being  represented  in  our  sections  by  a  vacant  space.  As 
this  apparent  shrinking  was  quite  general  throughout  the 
specimen,  I  attributed  it  to  the  action  of  reagents.  With 
this  power,  the  nerve  presented  a  regularly  mottled  appear- 
ance, very  similar  to  a  section  of  a  frog's  olfactory  nerve 
as  figured  by  Boveri,  and  representing  according  to  his  views 
the  cut  ends  of  the  nerve  fibres.  The  nerve  in  its  essential 
elements,  therefore,  was  normal.  The  connective  tissue 
elements,  however,  were  largely  increased. 
General  Consideratioiis. 

It  will  be  interesting  now,  to  gather  together  the  available 
facts  relating  to  Laura's  sense  of  smell,  and  the  general  con- 
dition of  her  nasal  mucous  membrane  during  life,  and  to  find, 
if  we  can,  in  the  condition  of  this  membrane  an  explanation 
of  her  symptoms. 


ON    THE    BRAIN    OF    LAURA   BRIDGMAN.  75 

As  an  infant  she  was  delicate,  being  subject  to  severe  con- 
vulsions. But  later  her  health  improved,  and  when  two  years 
old  she  is  described  as  being  more  active  and  intelligent  than 
ordinary  children.  At  two  she  had  scarlet  fever  with  such 
severity  that  for  seven  weeks  she  was  unable  to  swallow  solid 
food.  Both  eyes  and  ears  were  affected,  suppurating  freely 
(1-p2).  When  seven  years  old  she  was  seen  by  Dr.  R.  D. 
Mussey,  Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Surgery  at  Dartmouth 
College,  and  in  a  letter  dated  April  14,  1837,  he  thus  alludes 
to  her  sense  of  smell :  "Her  sense  of  smell  is  thought  by  her 
mother  to  be  less  acute  than  other  children,  as  she  very  sel- 
dom applies  any  odorous  substance  to  her  nose :  it  is  not 
improbable  that  this  sense  may  have  been  impaired  by  the 
fever" (1_vin).  In  this  year,  1837,  she  entered  the  Perkins 
Institution  and  we  find  in  Dr.  Howe's  report  this  note  (2-155)  : 
"For  all  purposes  of  use  she  is  without  smell,  and  takes  no 
notice  of  the  odor  of  a  rose,  or  the  smell  of  cologne  water, 
when  held  quite  near  her,  though  acrid  and  pungent  odors 
seem  to  affect  the  olfactory  nerve."  April  6,  1812,  Miss 
Swift,  Laura's  teacher,  made  this  note(1_p107) :  "Dr.  Howe 
came  into  the  room,  while  she  was  having  a  lesson,  peeling 
an  orange.  She  stopped  in  the  midst  of  a  sentence  to  say, 
'I  smell  an  orange.'  We  can  see  a  decided  improvement  in 
her  sense  of  smell  since  last  year,  but  she  has  never  noticed 
any  perfume  so  quickly  or  at  so  great  a  distance  before." 
June  19,  1844,  we  find  this  noteC1^-257):  "This  is  the  first 
season  she  has  ever  perceived  the  smell  of  a  rose  or  pink, 
and  she  now  puts  all  flowers  to  her  nose  and  is  disappointed 
if  they  have  no  perfume.  In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Howe,  dated 
June  25,  1844,  Laura  herself  says (1_p-258),  "I  can  smell  roses 
much  better  than  I  did  two  years  ago,  and  it  gives  me  much 
pleasure  in  smelling  roses." 

I  find  but  few  observations  upon  the  general  condition  of 
her  nose.  Dec.  14,  1843,  Miss  Swift  made  this  note(1_p  215): 
"She  has  always  been  a  sufferer  from  a  severe  catarrhal  affec- 
tion, and  as  this  shows  signs  of  improvement,  we  hope  for  a 
corresponding  one  in  both  smell  and  taste."  In  1878  Dr.  G. 
Stanley  Hall,  in  the  course  of  a  series  of  observations  upon 
her  several  faculties,  examined  her  nose  with  this  result(6) : 


76  GETCHELL : 

"There  is  no  deformity  or  scarification  observable  without  or 
from  a  cursory  examination  within  the  nose,  and  the  yellow 
pigment  of  the  Schneiderian  membrane  can  be  seen  by  a  very 
simple  apparatus."  Dr.  Hall  made  further  this  very  inter- 
esting observation.  He  described  her  sleeping  with  long 
regular  breathing,  the  teeth  slightly  apart  and  the  tongue 
pressed  against  them  and  almost  between  them. 

I  have  received  the  following  letter  from  Miss  Delia  Ben- 
nett, who  has  been  a  teacher  in  the  Perkins  Institution  since 
1876: 

"Laura  Bridgman  lived  for  several  years  in  the  same  family 
with  myself,  and  I  have  conferred  with  the  matron  of  the  cot- 
tage, and  can  answer  most  of  your  questions  definitely.  There 
was  copious  discharge  from  her  nose,  so  much  so  that  she 
was  wont  to  say,  'My  poor  nose!'  Her  handkerchief  was  in 
frequent  demand,  and  she  used  many.  Her  breath  was  never 
offensive.  She  always  breathed  through  her  nose,  a  habit 
which  she  formed  when  quite  young,  and  her  breathing  was 
often  accompanied  with  a  gentle  whistling  sound.  I  have 
seen  her  asleep  in  the  daytime  and  her  mouth  was  closed,  but 
I  cannot  tell  about  the  night.  She  did  remove  mucus  from 
her  throat,  and  occasionally  had  a  sore  throat." 

From  these  notes  one  gathers  that  at  the  age  of  two,  Laura 
suffered  from  a  severe  inflammation  of  the  nasopharynx, 
which  doubtless  extended  to  her  nose :  that  after  her  illness 
she  was  quite  destitute  of  the  sense  of  smell,  entirely  so  when 
at  the  age  of  eight  she  entered  the  Perkins  Institution  :  that  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  she  could  detect  with  certainty  and  pleasure 
moderately  pronounced  odors :  that  she  had  a  severe  nasal 
catarrh  which  lasted  her  entire  life,  although  it  decreased 
somewhat  in  severity :  furthermore  that  there  was  no  deform- 
ity without  or  within  the  nose  that  could  be  seen  by  one  not 
accustomed  to  examine  these  parts. 

We  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  the  cause  of  Laura's 
anosmia  and  her  partial  recovery  from  it.  We  have  seen 
that  the  olfactory  nerves  were  capable  of  performing  their 
function,  and  according  to  Dr.  Donaldson  (vide  ante)  there 
was  no  central  lesion  that  would  cause  anosmia.  We  must 
therefore  seek  for  the  cause  in  the  periphery  of  the  nervous 


ON  THE  BEAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         77 

apparatus.  The  two  chief  peripheral  causes  of  anosmia  are 
obstruction  to  the  inspired  air  due  to  deformity  of  the  nose, 
hypertrophy  of  the  turbinated  bodies,  nasal  polypi  or  tumors, 
and  atrophic  disease.  That  there  was  not  atrophic  disease 
is  shown  by  the  absence  of  bad  odor,  by  the  partial  return  of 
the  sense  of  smell,  and  by  the  result  of  our  examination  of 
the  specimen.  Furthermore,  according  to  Bosworth,  catarrhal 
affections  caused  by  febrile  diseases  and  prominently  scarlet 
fever,  are  characterized  by  hypertrophic  changes  (ss-p1"). 
It  is  quite  improbable  that  Laura  had  any  deformity  of 
the  nose  or  hypertrophic  disease  in  the  respiratory  part  of  the 
nose,  which  would  interfere  very  materially  with  the  access 
of  the  inspired  air  to  the  olfactory  region,  and  it  is  in  this  lat- 
ter region,  therefore,  that  we  must  look  for  the  cause  of  her 
anosmia.  We  have  found  in  the  left  superior  meatus  an 
adequate  cause  for  a  complete  absence  of  the  sense  of  smell 
for  that  area,  in  the  extensive  disease  there  which  resulted  in 
a  thorough  disorganization  of  the  mucous  membrane  in  a  part 
of  the  olfactory  fissure,  while  the  rest  was  excluded  from  all  con- 
tact with  the  inspired  air  by  the  firm  union  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  septum  with  that  of  the  left  superior  turbinated 
body.  In  the  right  superior  meatus,  on  the  other  hand,  con- 
ditions were  more  favorable  for  the  proper  performance  of 
function.  It  is  here  that  Laura  must  have  smelled,  and  the 
questions  now  to  be  settled  are,  how  could  this  area  have 
been  rendered  incapable  of  performing  its  function,  and  how 
could  this  function  have  been  resumed. 

Catarrhal  inflammation  of  the  nasal  mucous  membrane  is  the 
usual  accompaniment  of  scarlet  fever,  except  in  the  mildest 
cases,  and  is  associated  with  an  irritating  discharge  from  the 
nose  (Smith)  (89) .  The  inflammatory  process  in  these  cases  does 
not  involve  more  than  the  epithelial  layers.  But  in  severe 
disease  the  deeper  tissues  of  the  mucous  membrane  are  af- 
fected. There  is  a  copious  proliferation  of  cells  in  the  deeper 
layers,  with  fibrinous  infiltration  even  to  the  extent  of  com- 
pressing the  vessels  and  making  portions  of  the  tissue  gan- 
grenous (Henoch )(90).  There  may  even  result  necrosis  of 
the  bones  (Thomas)(91).  There  may  be  recovery  even  though 
the  disease  be  severe,  or  it  may  result  in  chronic  disease  with 

6 


78  GETCHELL : 

more  or  less  profuse  discharge  and  extensive  inflammatory  in- 
filtration, or  there  may  be  an  osteitis  of  all  the  bones  which 
enter  into  the  composition  of  the  nasal  cavities  (Allen)(92). 
That  Laura's  nasal  mucous  membrane  was  prof oundly  affect- 
ed by  the  fever  there  seems  no  doubt,  and  it  is  easy  to  conceive 
how  the  active  cell  proliferation  and  swelling  of  the  mucous 
membrane  caused  by  the  catarrhal  process  would  have  so  af- 
fected the  delicate  termination  of  the  olfactory  nerves  that  they 
would  be  entirely  incapable  of  functioning.  But  as  time  went 
on  we  know  her  catarrh  grew  better  and  we  rightfully  infer 
that  the  inflammatory  processes  in  the  mucous  membrane 
subsided,  to  an  extent,  though  they  never  entirely  ceased.  We 
have  seen  that  the  structures  of  the  nose  were  a  good  deal 
damaged,  yet  they  were  not  entirely  useless.  In  the  right 
superior  meatus  especially,  there  were  spots  of  membrane  in  a 
fairly  healthy  condition.  A  question  of  interest  here  presents 
itself — would  the  olfactory  nerves  after  so  long  a  period  of 
inactivity  preserve  their  power  of  responding  to  stimuli!  The 
following  case  reported  by  Allen  (92)  proves  that  this  is  pos- 
sible. The  patient  was  a  married  woman.  She  had  never 
breathed  through  her  nose  and  had  never  experienced  the 
perception  of  an  odor.  There  was  found  to  be  a  complete  bony 
occlusion  of  the  posterior  nares.  This  was  broken  through 
and  on  the  sixth  day  after  the  operation  she  began  to  smell 
and  in  a  short  time  became  familiar  with  the  common  odors 
and  flavors.  The  odoriferous  air  was  not  kept  from  Laura's 
olfactory  nerves  by  bony  obstruction,  but  it  was  kept  from 
them  by  what  acted  as  efficiently  for  a  long  time,  namely, 
masses  of  rapidly  proliferating  cells,  and  the  mucus  and 
debris  of  a  diseased  mucous  membrane.  When  this  process 
subsided  it  again  became  possible,  in  those  areas  where  the 
ephithelium  still  remained  sufficiently  healthy,  as  it  did  in 
places,  for  the  terminal  filaments  of  the  nerves  to  receive  and 
convey  their  proper  stimuli.  There  may  have  been  a  further 
cause  for  the  anosmia.  When  discussing  the  pathology  of 
the  olfactory  nerve,  we  alluded  to  Bosworth's  view  that  anos- 
mia was  due  in  some  cases  to  the  local  action  of  the  surround- 
ing inflammation  upon  the  nerve  itself.  As  I  understand  the 
matter  he  bases  this  view  solely  upon  clinical  experience,  and 
attempts  no  explanation  of  the  tardy  return  of  the  sense  of 


ON   THE  BRAIN   OF   LAURA   BRIDGMAN.  79 

smell  after  the  subsidence  of  the  inflammation.  We  have  in 
our  sections  a  possible  explanation  of  this  peculiarity.  The 
connective  tissue  of  the  nerve  was  increased  in  amount,  while 
the  nerve  tissue  proper  was  apparently  normal.  Interesting 
questions  suggest  themselves  in  this  connection.  Does  the 
development  of  this  tissue  impair  the  functioning  power  of 
the  nerve,  and  does  a  nerve  so  affected  resume  its  normal 
activity  more  slowly  than  the  surrounding  tissue?  At  present, 
so  far  as  I  know,  there  is  not  sufficient  anatomical  data  upon 
which  one  could  even  discuss  these  topics. 

Summary. 

I.  The  ethmoid  bone  and  the  mucous  membrane  covering  it 
had  suffered  from  inflammatory  disease,  which  particularly 
affected  the  left  side.  2.  This  disease  resulted  in  an  excessive 
production  of  connective  tissue,  and  in  one  area,  the  left  su- 
perior meatus,  there  had  been  formed  a  fibrous  tumor.  The 
epithelium  was  generally  and  considerably  diseased.  The 
nerves  contained  an  excess  of  connective  tissue,  but  were 
otherwise  normal.  3.  When  two  years  old,  Laura  had  scarlet 
fever,  which  left  her  anosmic  and  with  severe  nasal  catarrh. 
She  partially  recovered  from  both  these  conditions.  4.  The 
anosmia  was  due  to  the  occlusion  of  the  left  olfactory  area 
by  the  union  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  septum  with 
that  of  the  superior  turbinated  body,  and  also  to  the  action  of 
the  inflamed  mucous  membrane  upon  the  nerves  of  the  right 
olfactory  region.  Partial  recovery  resulted  from  subsidence 
of  this  inflammation. 

II. — The    Visual  Apparatus. 

When  Laura  recovered  from  her  illness  it  appeared  that 
she  was  totally  blind  in  her  left  eye  but  could  see  somewhat 
with  the  right.  The  remnant  of  vision  in  her  right  eye  con- 
tinued up  to  the  eigthth  year  of  her  life. 

(From  that  time  on  she  was  absolutely  blind  in  both  eyes. 

In  1878  Dr.  O.  F.  Wadsworth,  of  Boston,  tested  her  for 
vision  and  found  her  totally  blind  (  )  and  at  the  same  time 
reported  on  the  appearance  of  the  eyes  as  follows  : 

"On  both  sides  the  lids  are  sunken,  partly  on  account  of 
lack  of  the  normal  amount  of  orbital  fatty  tissue,  partly  on 
account  of  the  small  size  of  the  eyeballs.  They  remain  con- 
stantly closed.     The  right  conjunctival  sac  is  much  smaller 


80  DONALDSON  : 

than  normal,  somewhat  irregular,  and  presents  an  appearance 
such  as  is  seen  after  severe  and  long-continued  inflammation. 
The  right  eye  appears  about  one  half  the  normal  size.  It  is 
wholly  enclosed  by  the  sclerotic,  except  over  a  space  at  the 
centre,  some  two  millimetres  in  diameter,  where  a  less  opaque 
tissue,  on  which  a  few  blood-vessels  are  visible,  represents 
the  altered  remnant  of  the  cornea.  The  left  conjuctival  sac 
is  somewhat  larger  than  the  right,  and  more  regular,  though 
still  small.  The  left  globe  also  is  a  little  larger  than  the 
right,  and  its  opaque  altered  cornea  is  some  four  millimetres 
in  horizontal  and  two  millimetres  in  vertical  diameter.  There 
was  constant  irregular  oscillation  of  the  globes  [nystagmus] 
whenever  they  were  exposed  to  view  by  raising  the  lids,  and 
the  oscillation  evidently  continued  even  after  the  lids  were 
closed." 

At  the  autopsy  the  eyes  were  removed  with  the  surround- 
ing tissue  and  put  unopened  into  the  Muller?s  fluid  and 
alcohol.     The  hardening  was  completed  in  alcohol. 

Both  bulbs  were  enclosed  by  orbital  fat.  All  the  muscles 
the  of  bulbs  were  present,  though  small,  and  the  external  ap- 
pearance of  the  bulbs  corresponded  with  Dr.  Wadsworth's 
description  given  in  1878.  After  hardening,  the  right  eye 
had  a  transverse  diameter  of  15  mm.  and  an  antero-posterior 
diameter  of  10.5  mm.  Similar  measurements  of  the  left  eye 
gave  17.5  and  11.  mm.  showing  the  left  to  be  decidedly  the 
larger.  The  condition  of  phthisis  bulbi  existed  for  both  eyes. 
There  was  a  faint  indication  of  the  anterior  chamber.  The 
locality  of  lens  and  vitreous  contained  abundant  calcareous 
deposits  in  small  masses  and  the  choroidal  pigment  was 
very  abundant.  Sections  through  the  point  of  entrance  of 
the  optic  nerve  showed  no  trace  of  the  retina  or  normal 
nervous  elements  at  this  point.  Both  eyes  were  similar  in 
the  appearance  just  mentioned.  As  has  been  stated  the 
optic  nerves  were  small : 

Eight  optic  nerve,  area  of  cross-section  near  chiasma,  5.00  sq.  mm. 
Left       "  "         "  "  "  "  3.38    "      " 

The  connective  tissue  was  vastly  increased  in  both  nerves 
but  one  also  saw  the  characteristic  cross  sections  of  axis- 
cylinders  with  their  medullary  sheaths.     The  fibres  were  both 


ON  THE  BEAIN  OF  LAURA  BEIDGMAN.         81 

large  and  small.  ^  It  is  worth  noting  that  these  fibres  were 
abundant  in  the  left  nerve  but  much  less  so  in  the  right, 
although  the  right  was  the  larger  nerve.  The  chiasma  was 
much  flattened  dorso-ventrally.  The  optic  tracts  were  small 
and  flattened.  Their  area  was  taken  about  10.  mm.  behind 
the  chiasma.  The  relations  of  size  were  of  course  reversed 
at  this  point  and  the  left  tract  was  the  larger : 

Right  optic  tract  near  chiasma,  3.13  sq.  mm. 

Left        "        "       "  "  4.69     "      « 

From  these  measurements  the  only  conclusion  that  can  be 
drawn  is  that  a  large  part  of  the  fibres  decussated.  In  the 
tracts,  which  were  not  very  well  hardened,  the  fibres  visible  in 
cross-section  of  the  corresponding  optic  nerves  were  also  to  be 
found.  Throughout  the  nerves  and  tracts,  but  more  abundant 
in  the  latter,  there  were  numerous  droplets  or  spherical 
homogeneous  masses,  as  a  rule  about  12  p  in  diameter,  and 
staining  with  fuchsin  and  carmine.  Lying  at  the  periphery 
of  both  nerves  and  tracts  these  bodies  would  appear  to  cor- 
respond with  corpora  amylacea,  with  some  of  the  descriptions 
of  which,  however,  they  do  not  exactly  agree.  Further  than 
the  tracts  it  was  not  practicable  to  carry  the  histological 
examination  of  the  optic  pathway. 

The  corpora  geniculata  externa  were  too  imperfect  for 
description.  The  pulvinar  and  the  anterior  pair  of  the 
corpora  quadrigemina  were  both  slightly  less  prominent  than 
in  the  normal  brains.  The  cortex  was  the  next  locality 
studied  and  the  results  there  obtained  have  already  been 
given. 

The  first  point  calling  for  remark  is  that  the  eye  in  which 
vision  was  longest  retained  ultimately  had  the  smaller  bulb 
and  at  the  same  time  it  was  associated  with  the  larger  optic 
nerve  and  tract.  The  nerve  and  tract,  however,  though 
larger  showed  fewer  nerve  fibres  that  were  clearly  marked. 
It  should  perhaps  be  noticed  in  this  connection  that  this 
smaller  bulb  had  also  the  smaller  (right)  oculo-motor  nerve 
in  connection  with  it. 

From  these  facts  it  would  appear  that  although  in  general 
the  right  eye  was  more  seriously  affected  yet  some  portion  of 
the  retina  remained  undamaged  for  a  long  time — up  to  the 


82  DONALDSON  : 

eighth  year.  During  this  period  the  optic  nerve,  the  tract 
and  the  cortex  underwent  considerable  development  so  that 
the  subsequent  degeneration  of  the  right  nerve  was  accompa- 
nied by  far  less  atrophy  than  that  of  the  left  side.  On  the  left 
side  the  disturbance  in  the  eyeball  was  in  general  less  severe 
and  though  vision  was  abolished  very  early,  there  was  left 
some  condition  which  favored  the  better  preservation  of  those 
nerve  fibres  which  did  not  at  an  early  period  undergo  degen- 
eration and  absorption.  I  had  expected  to  find  complete 
degeneration  of  both  optic  nerves  such  as  had  been  described 
by  Purtscher.  (80) 

On  the  bases  of  these  specimens,  I  should  hardly  like  to 
enter  into  the  forms  of  degeneration  possible  to  the  optic 
nerves  but  if  a  double  set  of  fibres  in  the  optic — the  two  sets 
developing  and  conducting  in  opposite  directions — be  accepted, 
then  these  nerves  found  intact  in  this  case  might  be  con- 
sidered as  belonging  to  that  set  the  centre  for  which  was 
central  and  which  conducted  peripherally,  v.  Monakow  (81, 82) 

In  this  instance  then  the  disturbance  in  the  cortex  is  prob- 
ably to  be  looked  upon   much   more  as   due  to  an  arrest  of 
growth  following  the  removal  of  the  normal  stimuli,  than  to  a 
continuation  of  the  degeneration  into  the  hemispheres. 
III. — The  Auditory  Apparatus. 

From  the  time  of  her  illness  to  her  death  there  is  good 
evidence  that  Laura  was  entirely  deaf.  At  the  same  time  she 
had  a  good  sense  of  direction  and  of  equilibrium  and  was 
sensitive  to  rotation.  Hall  (6).  The  equilibrium  and  auditory 
functions  of  the  eighth  nerve  are  therefore  to  be  separated 
in  this  case. 

An  examination  of  the  ears  was  made  in  1878  by  Dr. 
Clarence  J.  Blake  who  reported  as  follows  :  (6) 

"  Both  external  ears  normal.  The  right  external  auditory 
canal  normal  in  size  and  contour,  and  the  skin  lining  the 
passage  healthy  and  showing  no  marks  of  previous  inflam- 
mation-processes. The  right  membrana  tympani  was  entirely 
destroyed  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow  rim,  the  remains  of 
the  inferior  and  posterior  portions  of  the  membrane,  from 
which  a  thin  cicatrical  tissue  extended  inward  to  the  promont- 
orium  over  the  stapes  and  fenestra  rotunda.     The   malleus 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         83 

and  incus  had  disappeared.  The  mucous  membrane  of  the 
tympanic  cavity  presented  a  normal  appearance,  with  the 
exception  of  one  spot  on  the  promontorium  covered  with  a  thin 
crust  of  dried  secretion  about  two  millimetres  in  diameter.  A 
band  of  thin  cicatrical  tissue  also  extended  across  the  anterior 
portion  of  the  tympanic  cavity.  The  left  external  auditory 
canal  was  filled  with  dark  brownish  cerumen,  on  removal  of 
which  the  passage  was  found  to  terminate,  at  a  depth  of  two 
centimetres,  in  a  diaphragm  of  secondary  granulation-tissue, 
concave,  very  firm,  and  resisting  gentle  pressure  with  a 
probe,  except  at  the  central  or  thinner  portions,  where  it 
could  be  slightly  depressed.  Its  outer  covering  was  continuous 
with  the  dermoid  lining  of  the  canal." 

After  death,  the  petrous  bones  were  put  in  Dr.  Blake's 
hands  and  the  report  on  them,  made  by  Dr.  W.  S.  Bryant,  of 
Boston,  is  the  following : 

The  Examination  of  Laura  Bridgmarfs  Petrous  Bones. 
The  Bight  Petrous  Bone. 

A  deep  groove  for  the  superior  petrosal  sinus  is  seen.  The 
external  auditory  canal  is  terminated  by  a  concave  curtain  of 
fibrous  tissue  resting  on  the  promontory.  There  is  no 
evidence  left  of  the  former  position  of  membrana  tympani 
except  at  the  floor  of  the  canal,  where  there  is  a  slight  indica- 
tion of  the  sulcus  tympanicus.  The  tympanic  cavity  is  con- 
siderably constricted  by  hyperostoses.  The  oval  and  round 
windows  are  ossified  across  and  the  promontory  is  very  rough, 
leaving  only  a  small  space  inferiorly  and  posteriorly.  The 
inferior  anterior  wall  of  the  tympanum  is  very  thin  and  there 
are  two  pin-hole  perforations  into  the  carotid  canal. 

The  Eustachian  tube  is  impervious ;  its  tympanic  end 
being  closed  by  bone  and  just  beyond  this  there  is  an  accu- 
mulation of  cheesy  matter  also  enclosed  by  bone.  There  are 
no  air  spaces  within  the  tympanum  for  all  the  bone  cells  are 
filled  with  tissue,  although  in  the  highest  part  of  the  petrous 
bone  there  is  a  cell  which  connects  with  the  tympanum.  There 
is  no  evidence  of  mastoid  cells  or  antrum.  (I  did  not  see  the 
mastoid  process). 

The  chorda  tympani  muscle  is  very  much  atrophied  and  its 
tendon   is    attached    to    cicatricial    tissue.     The    stapedius 


84  DONALDSON  : 

was  very  much  atrophied  and  its  canal  narrowed.  The  tendon 
still  protrudes  from  the  tubercle. 

Anteriorly  and  externally  the  osseous  wall  of  the  aqueduct 
of  Fallopius  is  wanting.  No  trace  of  the  ossicles  could  be 
found.     The  inner  ear  appears  normal. 

Dr.  H.  F.  Sears  kindly  examined  the  terminations  of  the 
auditory  nerve  and  organ  of  Corti  and  found  the  terminal 
ganglion  cells  intact. 

The  Left  Petrous  Bone. 

The  groove  for  the  superior  petrosal  sinus  is  undsually 
deep.  A  diaphragm  of  dense  fibrous  tissue  especially  thick 
and  firm  on  the  surface  and  concave  outwards  forms  the  end 
of  the  conical  external  auditory  meatus  8  mm.  external  to  the 
base  of  the  styloid  process. 

The  floor  of  the  osseous  meatus  is  defective  externally  and 
is  pierced  internally  and  anteriorly  by  a  foramen  1  mm.  in 
diameter,  in  the  fissure  of  Glacier. 

External  to  the  fibrous  diaphragm  there  is  a  diaphragm 
formed  by  hyperostosis  of  the  walls  of  the  canal  which  ob- 
structs the  passage  except  near  the  centre  and  slightly  ex- 
ternal to  the  normal  position  of  the  membrana  tympani, 
where  there  is  an  opening  2x4  mm. 

The  hyperostosis  extends  into  the  tympanum  filling  the 
greater  part  of  it,  but  leaving  a  space  external  to  the  fenestrse 
and  below  the  promontory,  also  a  considerable  space  in  the 
external  anterior  and  superior  part  of  the  petrous  bone. 

There  are  no  air  spaces  between  the  place  of  closure  of  the 
meatus  and  the  pharyngeal  end  of  the  osseous  Eustachian 
tube.  All  the  bone  cells  are  filled  with  soft  tissue  and  the 
osseous  Eustachian  tube  is  not  seen.  No  remains  of  the 
membrana  tympani  could  be  found. 

Before  I  saw  the  specimen  the  tympanum  had  been  opened 
and  some  of  its  contents  taken  out ;  all  of  this  was  lost  except 
the  head  and  neck  of  the  malleus  with  the  base  of  the  long 
process,  all  enclosed  in  fibrous  tissue. 

The  relations  of  the  fenestra  ovalis  and  the  attachment  of 
the  tensor  tympani  muscle  had  also  been  destroyed.  The 
chorda  tympani  nerve  was  found  intact.  The  tendon  of  the 
stapedius  muscle  was  protruding  from  its  tubercle. 


ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         85 

The  aqueduct  of  Fallopius  and  its  contents  are  intact.  The 
round  window  is  closed  by  dense  fibrous  tissue.  Both  the 
round  and  oval  windows  are  small,  less  than  one-half  of 
normal  size. 

Dr.  H.  F.  Sears  kindly  examined  the  nerves  and  muscles 
and  found  the  tensor  tympani  considerably  and  the  stapedius 
slightly  atrophied.  He  also  found  numerous  ganglion  cells 
in  the  cochlea. 

The  original  report  of  Dr.  Bryant  ends  here.  In  answer  to 
a  further  question,  however,  he  states  that  nothing  patholog- 
ical could  be  definitely  made  out  in  either  the  cochleas  or 
semi- circular  canals.  As  the  original  preservation  of  the 
specimens  had  been  in  Miiller's  fluid  only,  they  were  not  in 
the  best  condition  for  a  fine  histological  examination. 

As  the  case  stands  the  inflammation  of  the  middle  ear  is 
the  occasion  of  the  deafness.  The  authorities  on  the  subject 
state  that  absolute  deafness  does  not  follow  disease  of  the 
middle  ear  alone.  So  that  there  is  something  here  to  be  ex- 
plained. I  consider  that  the  cochlea  must  have  been  thrown 
out  of  function  on  both  sides  since  the  tuning  fork  placed  on 
the  skull  gave  no  auditory  sensations — and  this,  to  my  mind, 
outbalances  the  negative  result  of  the  histological  examina- 
tion. 

The  auditory  nerves  were  studied  only  by  means  of  the 
stumps  attached  to  the  medulla ;  the  right  auditory  had  an  area 
of  4.26  sq.  mm.  in  cross  section.  The  left  of  3.17  sq.  mm. 
Both  samples  were  taken  within  about  3  mm.  of  their  attach- 
ment to  the  medulla.  (For  the  method  see  the  article  in  this 
same  number  on  "  The  size  of  several  cranial  nerves  in  man  as 
indicated  by  their  cross-section.")  Boughly  their  area  was 
about  two  thirds  of  that  of  the  similar  nerves  from  the  brain 
of  a  normal  male  in  whom  the  cranial  nerves  were  all  very 
large.  There  is  no  reason  then  to  think  that  in  Laura  the 
nerves  were  remarkably  small.  The  figure  for  the  area  of  the 
larger,  right  nerve,  is  somewhat  too  high  owing  to  the 
obliquity  of  section  and  some  distortion,  so  that  they  were 
really  more  nearly  equal  than  these  figures  would  indicate. 

The  connective  tissue  in  the  nerve  trunks  is  normal.     The 


86  DONALDSON  : 

nerve  fibre  show  well  marked  sheaths  and  axis  cylinders. 
If  degeneration  has  occurred  in  these  nerves  the  indications  of 
it  have  long  since  disappeared.  The  nerve  fibres  found  would 
be  designated  as  normal.  The  bundles  of  larger  fibres, 
presumptively  connected  with  the  semi- circular  canals,  contain 
particularly  well  preserved  fibres. 

In  the  medulla  both  roots  and  all  three  nuclei  can  be  clearly 
identified  on  both  sides. 

The  fibres  in  the  medulla  stain  by  Weigert's  method  and  the 
cells  with  carmine,  as  well  as  could  be  expected  from  the  con- 
dition of  the  specimen.  If  there  is  any  abnormality  it  is  that 
the  auditory  fibres  do  not  take  the  Weigert's  stain  particularly 
well  and  that  the  cells  of  the  accessory  nucleus  in  the  medulla 
are  few  and  poorly  developed.  The  striae  acusticae  were 
well  developed  and  on  gross  examination — when  the  floor  of 
the  fourth  ventricle  was  viewed  from  above — there  were 
visible  two  bundles  on  the  right  side  and  three  on  the  left 
which  could  be  counted  as  belonging  to  the  striae,  while  just 
cephalad  to  these  was  a  well  marked  bundle  on  each  side  of 
the  middle  line,  corresponding  with  the  structure  described  as 
the  conductor  sonorus  (Klangstab)  and  supposed  to  form  part 
of  the  centripetal  pathway  for  the  auditory  impulses. 

On  comparison  with  a  number  of  normal  specimens  the 
caudal  pair  of  the  quadrigemina  exhibited  no  marked  pecul- 
iarity. They  were  small,  but  no  smaller  than  in  the  case  of 
some  normals.  The  corpora  geniculata  interna  did  not  appear 
small  in  Laura  upon  gross  examination  but  this  appearance  I 
am  inclined  to  attribute  to  the  failure  of  the  surrounding 
regions  to  fully  develop,  thus  causing  the  corp.  gen.  int.  to 
stand  out  with  unusual  clearness. 

The  next  point  examined  in  the  auditory  pathway  was  the 
cerebral  cortex  and  the  results  there  found  have  already  been 
stated. 

I  wish  to  add  in  this  place  that  in  the  description  of  the 
surface  of  the  brain  previously  given  Iwas  not  willing  to  admit 
any  superficial  abnormality  in  the  region  of  the  first  temporal 
gyrus  at  its  caudal  end.  Since  writing  that  description  I  have 
made  further  comparisons  with  normal  brains  and  have  ob- 
tained evidence  of  lack  of  development  in  the  cortex  of  this 


ON   THE   BRAIN   OF   LAURA   BRIDGMAN.  87 

region  in  the  case  of  Laura.  At  present  then  I  look  on  the 
slenderness  of  this  gyrus,  especially  on  the  right  side,  where 
the  cortex  is  most  affected,  as  an  expression  of  the  in- 
complete development  of  the  region.  Mills  C42,68),  Starr  (41), 
Manouvrier  (8S). 

At  first  sight  the  small  disturbance — to  the  naked  eye  at 
least — existing  between  the  middle  ear  and  the  cortex  is 
striking.  Histological  investigation  up  to  the  centres  in  the 
medulla  yields  a  similar  negative  result.  Between  the  me- 
dulla and  cortex  the  condition  of  the  specimen  did  not  warrant 
a  histological  study. 

In  the  scattered  literature  relating  to  the  examination  of  the 
ear  and  brain  in  deaf-mutes,  a  condition  where  there  is  little 
or  no  apparent  abnormality  of  the  inner  ear,  the  auditory 
nerve  or  the  medulla,  associated  with  disease  of  the  middle 
ear,  deafness  and  (sometimes)  atrophy  of  the  cortical  auditory 
centres,  is  occasionally  described  :  Bremer  (69),  Larsen  & 
Mygind  (70),  Moos  (J1),  Mygind  (w),  Obersteiner  (73),  Moos 
and  Steinbriigge  (74>75-76).  I  believe  that  in  future  cases,  like 
that  of  Laura,  a  more  detailed  examination  than  it  was  possible 
to  make  in  her  case  will  show  disease  of  the  membraneous 
cochlea  or  the  nerves  between  it  and  the  spiral  ganglion  of 
the  cochlea.  Such  a  case  has  been  reported  by  Moos  and  Stein- 
briigge (79). 

As  long,  of  course,  as  the  cells  of  the  spiral  ganglion  are 
intact,  just  so  long  will  the  auditory  fibres  associated  with 
them — and  this  must  represent  a  very  large  portion  of  the 
cochlear  division  of  the  auditory — remain  morphologically  in- 
tact. Following  the  pathway  to  the  cortex  we  find  no  point 
at  which  marked  changes  occur  until  we  reach  the  cortex  it- 
self. The  disturbance  here  is  most  probably  due  to  the  early 
and  long  continued  lack  of  normal  excitation,  for  the  cortical 
cells  in  the  sensory  areas  are  peculiarly  dependent  for  their 
proper  development  on  the  special  sense  with  which  they  are 
associated. 

The  evidence  from  stimulation  of  the  cortex  and  from  the 
histology  of  the  medulla  goes  to  show  that  the  association  be- 
tween the  auditory  nerve  and  the  cortical  centre  for  hearing  is 
to  some  extent  at  least,  a  crossed  one.     If  this  were  so,  then 


88  DONALDSON  : 

the  smaller,  left  nerve,  would  associate  itself  with  the  thinner,, 
right  cortex.  This  relation  exists  in  the  case  of  Laura,  but  it 
remains  for  further  investigation  to  show  its  significance. 
Strumpell  (78). 

As  regards  the  semicircular  canals  it  may  be  added  that  they 
were  not  found  diseased.  Their  nerve  was  in  good  con- 
dition, and  sensibility  to  rotation,  sense  of  direction,  etc.,. 
were  present.  Of  course  the  relation  of  this  part  of  the  inner 
ear  to  the  middle  ear  is  less  intimate  than  that  of  the  cochlea, 
and  this  in  part  may  account  for  the  normal  preservation  of 
the  canals.  That  both  portions  of  the  labyrinth  need  not  be 
conjointly  affected  is  shown  by  James  (79),  in  his  study  of 
the  sense  of  dizziness  in  deaf-mutes,  where  this  sense  was 
found  totally  lacking  in  only  186  out  of  the  519  cases  examined. 
IV. — The  Cranial  Nerves. 

It  is  desirable  to  bring  together  the  various  facts  regarding 
the  cranial  nerves  in  Laura's  case.  After  what  has  been  said 
in  the  foregoing  pages,  and  the  discussion  of  their  area  by  Mr. 
Bolton  and  myself  (  ^  p- aM) ,  this  can  be  briefly  done.  Table  XL 
gives  the  various  points  in  a  condensed  form. 

Table  XL 


II. 

a 
tt 
tt 

III. 

it 

VIII. 

tt 

The  sixth  nerve — abducens — contained  only  normal  fibres 
and  appeared  healthy,  but  the  measurements  on  the  two  sides 
were  so  different  that  I  suspect  some  strands  were  lost,  and 
hence  do  not  give  the  figures  for  the  area. 

The  only  nerve  in  the  Table  which  has  not  been  discussed 
is  the  olfactory.  The  bulb  was  flattened  and  the  glomeruli 
could  not  be  identified.  The  ganglion  cell  layer  was  there, 
and  contained  some  well  formed  cells.  The  other  layers  were 
poorly  preserved.  The  vessel  walls  were  thickened.  There 
was  some  excess  of  connective  tissue  and  an  abundance  of 


Area  in 

Nerve. 

SQ.  MM. 

Condition-. 

Size. 

Olfactory,  bulb, 

right 

6.34 

Somewhat  atrophied 

Small 

"          tract, 

i  right 

1.46 

a                    tt 

" 

Optic  nerve, 

right 

5.00 

Greatly  atrophied 

Very  small 

tt             tt 

left 

3.38 

tt                    tt 

tc          it 

"      tract, 

right 

3.13 

it                    tt 

u          .( 

It               tt 

left 

4.69 

tt                    tt 

it          it 

Oculomotor, 

right 

3.17 

Normal 

Large 

tt 

left 

3.51 

u 

tt 

Auditory, 

right 

4.26 

Somewhat  atrophied 

Small 

tt 

left 

3.17 

tt                    tt 

ti 

ON  THE  BRAIN  OF  LAURA  BRIDGMAN.         89 

hyaline  bodies — corpora  amylacea(?).  Distinctly  degener- 
ated fibres  could  not  be  made  out  in  the  tract,  but  the  vessels, 
connective  tissue,  corpora  amylacea,  were  found  as  in  the 
bulb.  Grossly  the  left  tract  and  bulbs  were  like  the  right, 
but  by  accident  the  former  was  lost  before  it  had  been  exam- 
ined histologically. 

Whether  there  was  anything  peculiar  in  the  glossopharyngeal 
fibres,  I  am  unable  to  say.  The  portion  within  the  medulla 
was  normal. 

The  medulla  which  was  examined  from  the  level  of  the 
pyramid  to  the  middle  of  the  pons,  by  means  of  sections, 
.showed  no  abnormality  save  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  acces- 
sory nucleus  of  the  auditory  nerve,  where  the  cells  appeared 
small,  reduced  in  numbers  and  highly  pigmented. 

The  pia  of  the  hemispheres  had  a  normal  abundance  of  nu- 
clei in  it,  even  over  the  occipital  region — and  the  blood  vessels 
were  normal  in  size  and  thickness  of  their  walls.  The  cere- 
bellum was  also  normal. 

V. —  Conclusion. 

From  these  fragmentary  observations,  which  leave  so  many 
points  connected  with  this  special  case  still  undecided,  it  will 
be  advantageous  to  construct  some  sort  of  general  picture. 

The  anatomical  condition  was  that  of  a  normal  brain  in 
which  the  olfactory  bulbs  and  nerves,  the  optic  nerves,  the 
auditory  nerves,  and  possibly  the  glossopharyngeal,  had  all 
been  more  or  less  destroyed  at  their  peripheral  ends.  This 
destruction  caused  a  degeneration — most  marked  in  the  optic 
nerves — which  extended  towards  the  centres  and  involved 
them  indirectly.  This  condition  has  left  its  mark  more  or 
less  plainly  on  the  whole  brain,  as  indicated  by  the  extent 
and  thickness  of  the  cerebral  cortex,  and  specially  by  the 
cortex  connected  with  these  deficient  sensory  nerves.  The 
physiological  effect  of  the  peripheral  lesions,  as  I  conceive  it, 
was  to  retard  growth  in  the  centres,  cortical  and  subcortical, 
which  were  thus  involved,  and  also  to  interfere  with,  if  not 
entirely  prevent,  the  formation  of  the  association  tracts. 

To  be  sure,  this  case  represents  a  maximum  loss  in  these  de- 
fective senses  with  a  minimum  amount  of  central  disturbance, 
thus  offering  the  very  best  sort  of  ^opportunity  for  education 
by  way  of  the  surviving  senses.     At  the  same  time,  we  must 


90  DONALDSON  : 

imagine  the  hemispheres  to  have  been  traversed  in  every  di- 
rection by  partly  or  completely  closed  pathways.  The  brain 
was  simpler  than  that  of  a  normal  person,  and  Laura  was 
shut  off  from  those  cross-references  between  her  several 
senses,  which  usually  so  facilitate  the  acquisition  of  informa- 
tion and  the  process  of  thought.  Mental  association  was  for 
her  limited  to  various  phases  of  the  dermal  sensations  and  the 
minor  and  imperfect  senses  of  taste  and  smell.  Yet  from 
their  fundamental  and  protean  character,  the  dermal  senses 
are  perhaps  the  only  ones  on  which  alone  the  intellect  could 
have  lived.  We  are  thus  brought  back  to  Sanford's  (7)  con- 
clusion as  derived  from  the  study  of  her  writings.  "She  was 
eccentric,  not  defective.  She  lacked  certain  data  of  thought, 
but  not,  in  a  very  marked  way,  the  power  to  use  what  data 
she  had." 

One  word  more  upon  the  cortex.  The  deficiency  in  the 
motor  speech  centre  is  mainly  macroscopic,  as  far  as  the  third 
frontal  gyrus  is  concerned.  The  motor  centre  there  had  lost 
some,  but  not  all  its  associative  connections.  Histologically, 
it  was  slightly  deficient.  The  lesion  there  was  so  different  from 
that  of  the  sensory  centres  that  a  histological  difference 
ought  not,  perhaps,  to  be  surprising.  The  cortex  of  the  sen- 
sory centres  was  not  sunken  below  the  surrounding  level, 
though  the  gyri  were  slender  and  flattened.  Possibly  in  this 
sinking  in  a  motor  area  and  the  absence  of  the  same  in  the 
sensory  areas,  we  have  a  suggestive  difference  in  the  reactions 
of  the  several  portions  of  the  cortex. 

Finally,  the  deficiency  was  not  so  very  great  even  in  those 
areas,  where  it  was  most  marked,  and  the  question  arises  as 
to  what  sort  of  occupation  the  cells  in  those  areas  had,  which 
would  thus  justify  their  prolonged  existence.  If  they  were 
thrown  entirely  out  of  function  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  they 
could  last  so  well  for  nearly  sixty  years.  In  some  way  then 
they  may  have  taken  a  slight  part  in  the  cerebral  activity,  but 
it  was  so  slight  that  their  specific  reactions  did  not  rise  into 
consciousness,  for  though  Laura  had  some  light  perception 
up  to  her  eighth  year,  she  apparently  had  no  visual  memories, 
whereas  those  who  have  retained  full  vision  up  to  four  and 
a  half  or  five  years  of  age  and  then  become  blind,  do  usually 
remember  in  terms  of  sight  (8). 


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and  3.     p. 123. 

77.  1884.        Moos,  S.,  and  Steinbrugge,  H.    The  results  of  the 

examination  of  four  petrous  bones  of  two  deaf-mutes. 
Archives  of  Otology.    Vol.  XIII.  1884,  p.  247. 


96  DONALDSON  : 


Reference 
Numbkr. 


Date.  Title. 


78.  1882.         STRUMPELL,    A.      Ein     Fall   von   Gehirntutnor    mit 

centraler  einseitiger  Taubheit.  Neurolog.  Centralbl. 
B.  I.  18S2. 

79.  1882.         James,  W.    The  sense  of  dizziness  in  deaf-mutes. 

Am.  Jour,  of  Otology.    Vol.  IV.  p.  239.     Oeto.  1882. 

80.  1880.         Purtscher,  O.    Ueber  Kreuzung  und  Atrophie  der 

Nervi  und  Tractus  optici.  v.  Graefe's  Archiv  fur  Ophthal- 
mologic.    Bd.  26.  Abth.  II. 

81.  1S85.         v.  Monakow,  C.    Experimentelle  und  pathologiseh- 

anatomische  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Beziehungen 
der  sogenannten  Sehsphftre  zu  den  infracortiealen  Op- 
ticuscentren  und  zutn  N.  Opticus.  Archiv.  f.  Psychiatric 
Bd.  XVI.  H.  1.  u.  2. 

82.  1889.         v.  Monakow,  C.    Experimentelle  und  pathologisch- 

anatomisehe  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Opticuscentren 
und  Bahnen.  (Neue  Folge.)  Archiv  f.  Psychiatrie. 
B.  XX.    H.  3. 

83.  1889.         Manouvrier.    Les  premieres  circonvolutions  tem- 

porales  droite  et  gauche  chez  un  sourd  de  l'oreille 
gauche  (Bertillon).  Revue  Philosophique.  T.  XIV.  3. 
p.  330.     Paris. 

84.  1890.         Suchannek,  H.     A  case  of  Leukjemia  with  note- 

worthy changes  of  the  nasal  mucous  membrane. 
Archives  of  Otology,    Vol.  XIX. 

85.  1887.         Schwalbe,  G.    Anatomie  der  Sinnes-organe.    Er- 

langen. 

86.  1885.         Boveri,   T.      Beitrage   zur   Kenntniss    der  Nerven 

fasern.  Abhandl.  d.  k.  bayer.  Ahademie  d.  Wiss.  II.  cl. 
XV.  Bd.  II.  Abthe.    Munchen. 

87.  1881.         Althatjs,  J.      A  lecture    on  the  physiology  and 

pathology  of  the  olfactory  nerve.     The  Lancet,  1881, 
vol.  I. 
8S.        1889.         Bosworth,  F.  H.    A  treatise  on  the  diseases  of  the 
nose  and  throat.    Vol.  I.    New  York. 

89.  1885.         Smith,  J.  L.    Scarlet  Fever :  in  System  of  Medicine 

by  American  Authors.    Pepper,  Philadelphia. 

90.  1889.        Henoch,  E.    Lectures  on  Children's  Diseases.    Vol. 

II.  New  Sydenham  Society's  Publications.    London. 

91.  1879.         Thomas,  L.  Cyclopaedia  of  the  Practice  of  Medicine. 

von  Ziemsen.    New  York. 

92.  1891.         Allen,  H.    Clinical   Signs  common  to  the  mouth, 

nose,  throat  and  ear.  The  cephalic  mucous  membrane. 
University  Medical  Magazine,  March,  1891.  Philadel- 
phia. 

Corrigenda.     I.  Article. 

Page  12.  The  percentage  increase  in  volume  is  certainly  too  large. 
It  should  be  oue  or  two  per  cent,  less  than  that  for  weight. 

Page  14.  Line  8.  All  the  specimens  mentioned  in  this  paragraph 
except  the  Bridgman,  are  supposed  to  have  been  weighed  with  the  pia 
on.  To  make  this  specimen  comparable  then  its  weight  must  be  in- 
creased by  the  weight  of  the  pia,  31.4  grms.  This  makes  the  total 
weight  of  the  Bridgman  encephalon,  with  pia,  1235.4  grms. 


ON    THE   BRAIN   OE   LAURA   BRIDGMAN.  97 

Page  20.  Line  13.  Topinard's  Table  (Elements  d'Anthropologie 
generale,  Paris,  18S5)  in  his  Anthropology,  p.  518  shows  the  relations 
between  brain  weight  and  age.  It  is  based  on  1913  cases  of  Boyd,  and 
according  to  it  the  maximum  encephalic  weight  for  females,  falls  be- 
tween the  ages  of  20-30  years ;  that  for  males  between  3040  years ; 
This  indicates  brain  growth  up  to  the  age  of  maximum  weight,  there- 
fore beyond  the  twenty-fifth  year. 

Page  32.  Table.  The  first  series  of  weights  stands  under  the  head- 
ing "  Weight  of  cerebral  hemispheres,  fresh.''  The  question  arises 
whether  "  cerebral  hemisphere  "  should  not  be  replaced  by  "encephala." 
I  have  not  seen  any  account  of  how  much  of  the  encephalon  was  used 
in  determining  the  fresh  weights  in  this  series,  but,  since  these  brains 
were  directly  compared  with  those  of  other  observers  in  which  the 
entire  encephalon  had  been  weighed,  it  is  only  fair  to  suppose  that  they 
had  been  treated  in  the  same  way.  This  was  my  opinion  until  I  found 
a  table  in  R.  Wagner's^1)  Vorstudien.  2te  Abhandlung,  18G2,  P.  91,  in 
which  the  weights  ol  the  two  "  hemispheres,"  of  at  least  three  of  these 
brains  in  the  table,  are  compared  with  one  another.  The  specimens  had 
been  in  alcohol  the  strength  of  which  is  not  given.  Now  the  sum  of  the 
weights  of  the  two  ''hemispheres  "  is  nearly  equal  to  or  more  than  the 
weight  of  the  "brains''  given  by  II.  Wagner  (**)  1864.  I  therefore 
used  the  word  "  hemisphere  "  in  the  above  heading  as  equivalent  to  hemi- 
cerebrum.  It  would  appear  that  both  the  Wagners  used  it  as  equal  to 
hemiencephalon.  In  the  above  mentioned  table  then  the  weights  given 
are  those  for  the  entire  encephalon  and  not  for  the  cerebrum  only. 

Pajie  36.     Table  I. 


Page  42.    Table  VIII. 


For  absolute  difference, 

1398.4  sq. 

Bead      "              " 

1598.4    " 

For    in  percentage, 

1.8% 

Bead             ;' 

1.9% 

For  total  (left), 

101256.0  sq. 

Bead  " 

101255.2    " 

For  absolute  difference, 

2309.5    " 

Bead      "                "  . 

2308.7    " 

98 


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exposed. 


Fig.  2.    Ventral  aspect. 


Fig.  3.     Mesal  aspect. 

Explanation  of  Plato  III.  This  plate  shows  the  localities 
on  the  hemispheres  from  which  the  samples  of  cortex  were 
taken.  For  the  physiological  value  of  these  localities  Table 
1 1 1  may  he  consulted. 


Plate  IV. 


3.  5  b  -. 


CONTROLS-^ 


3.  0  m 

8RIDGMAN 

LEFT. 


BRIDGMAN   RIGHT 


Z.  5  m 


LOCALITr     - 


2.  0  m  _ 


M         'AN 

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Explanation  of  Plate  IV.  The  curve  was  originally  plotted 
so  that  the  thickness  of  the  cortex  was  magnified  100  times, 
i.  e.,  .01  mm.  of  cortex  corresponded  to  1.  mm.  on  the  ordi- 
nates.  The  original  has  been  reduced  for  printing  to  some- 
what less  than  six- tenths  of  its  linear  scale.  The  figures 
placed  by  the  ordinates  indicate  the  thickness  of  cortex.  The 
summits  of  the  curves  are  alone  represented,  there  being 
1.8  mm.  of  cortex  below  what  is  shown.  The  figures  for  the 
localities  cross  the  plate  in  a  horizontal  line,  with  the  important 
designations  below  them. 

The  curve  for  all  controls  is  in  a  solid  line, 

The  curve  for  L.  B.,  right  hemisphere,  is  in  long  and  short  dashes,  — 
The  curve  for  L  B.,  left  hemisphere,  is  in  short  dashes,  - 


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